Here are some ways to shine during that next work gathering

Your dream job may — or may not — be on the other end of a move

If you leave work every day feeling smart and productive, chances are you’re employed at an organization that attracts and retains an inclusive staff. Research on workplace teams shows that when the members represent a diversity of race, gender, and sexual orientation, they are likely to be more creative when it comes to finding solutions. In fact, according to Diversity Inc., teams with a mix of backgrounds and approaches to problem-solving often outperform even more experienced homogeneous teams. And being intellectually engaged is a great way to feel good about your job.

At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., there’s something big happening. It’s called Mars 2020 — a mission to position NASA’s next Mars rover so it can investigate a region where the ancient environment may have been favorable to microbial life. Translation: the search for signs of life on the Red Planet is heating up.

If you’re passing an operating room at the University of Pennsylvania’s Ryan Veterinary Hospital and hear some funky jazz or Hawaiian guitar, chances are the surgeon is Dr. Evelyn Galban. “I always have music to defuse the stress. Every decision I make must be in the best interest of the patient, which as you can imagine is hard to explain to them,” says Galban, a clinical assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery in Penn Vet’s Department of Clinical Studies. “My biggest concern is always for their well-being.”

You’ve been on your current career path for a few years — or maybe it’s only a few months — and you suspect this isn’t where you want to be long term. Maybe you don’t find the work rewarding, or you aren’t making the meaningful connections you expected. If the nagging dissatisfaction is persistent and growing, it may be time to consider switching careers. Especially if you’re looking for more personal satisfaction, a career change to teaching is something to consider.

“Every day we work toward solving hard technical problems that matter.”

Not long ago, Ginger Hernandez and her husband, Emmanuel, went to a social gathering at a neighbor’s house. When a woman there asked Hernandez how her day was, Hernandez told her it was “fantastic!” Hernandez, Cherokee, says her answer was delivered with such enthusiasm that it prompted a little skepticism. “The woman said, ‘Really? It was fantastic?’ And I told her yes, it really was.”

The first Native Hawai’ian woman to earn a PhD in science, Isabella Aiona Abbott was one of the world’s foremost authorities on limu, or the more than 70 edible varieties of seaweed. Her work won Abbott the accolade “First Lady of Limu.” Also considered the foremost expert on central-Pacific algae, Abbott navigated an ocean of “firsts” for indigenous people through her 90 years (1919–2010).

Mary Golda Ross could have starred in her own motion picture about rocket scientists of color. Ross, Cherokee, is best known for her work as one of the country’s original rocket scientists, but her role was so well hidden that in 1958 she easily stumped the celebrity panelists on the popular TV game show What’s My Line?

When William Tiger was in the fourth grade he made the trek from his home in Florida to Washington, D.C. It wasn’t a school trip to tour the city’s monuments and visit the museums. Instead, Tiger ventured to the nation’s capital with three adults from his Miccosukee Tribe to appear before a U.S. Senate subcommittee meeting chaired by Robert Kennedy.