S-STEM Scholar Margaret Devossier's Blog

Blog Post #2 Spring 22'           I would be lying if I said my capability as a woman wasn't challenged on an often enough  basis, but within my academic career I have been pleasantly surprised (give or take a few egotistical men). Throughout my time in community college and with ASU, I would say that I could count all the male STEM professors I've had on one hand. My mindset has been slowly peeling tough layers back with every introduction of a new woman in STEM with the title "Dr.".  That not to say that I turn my nose up to men who have the same titles or work in the same STEM fields, but at the end of the day, our social culture within STEM has been built on a foundation of wealthy, privileged men. Many might read that sentence and immediately feel attacked or irritated, but I feel it's 100% true. That doesn't necessarily mean it is a negative thing, but a factual thing to some degree, and with that comes the challenge of being a woman (especi...

    For a long time I was a textbook version of a fixed mindset. I had zero goals, no expectation, and was content with a very average, mediocre life where I would no doubt end up as a retail manager at some store I hated. That is what I thought my bar was set at and I was...okay with it. My parents never went to college, never talked about it as an option for us, and in turn never bothered to save for a college fund.     Fast forward to present day and my mind is damn near at a complete 180. I would say it's at about an 80/20 ratio of growth versus fixed. The main reason for this change requires credit given to two instructors, first Dr. Jennifer Gustafson at Glendale Community College, and second Dr. Kimberly Toms here at the ASU west campus. Them, paired with my own will power, have had the biggest influence on changing me into having a growth mindset.     To set the scene for Jen (her preferred name), she was my chemistry teacher throughout the entirety...

Translating my college experience into employer-desired experiences example 1: Hands down the first choice of transferrable skills would be the ability to work within a group or with a partner. Class projects or working with a partner to complete a task, even working with people you don't necessarily mesh well with. I had a partner I was assigned to complete scientific papers with for an entire semester of an ecology lab. We practiced writing different portions of the papers creating data figures together, and collecting field data together as well. That in itself is a desired skill especially within the conservation field. Being able to successfully  collaborate makes tasks all the more manageable and can provide for better quality work. It helps keep you open to the idea that someone may have better insight or just a different approach that you may not have considered before. That in itself can help someone be open to criticism and be able to handle and adjust their performa...

 How I Think I Want to Use My Degree and Why      I've always known what I wanted to do with my degree, but I've always had this sense of imposter syndrome and have always been worried that I wouldn't fit the bill. I want to work with animals, literally any way I can. My main focus has been to search for a zookeeping job, animal rehabilitation, or even sanctuary work.     Time and time again people have asked me "what kind of animal do you want to work with?" and my answer has always been "Yes" because there is no one animal that I have my heart set on. I want to do it all, anything and everything I can get my hands on is what I want. Currently I volunteer with raptors, and I love it! Will I stick with an ornithological focus? who knows! I love the animals I work with but of course I'd be ecstatic do have an opportunity to work with carnivores or even elephants, all the way down to teeny little kangaroo rats.     I've accepted that seeking a zook...

  Reflections on my cu rrent and desired on-line presence:      Based on the last blog post, I have definitely upgraded my online presence. I was intimidated by the idea of making a professional website for this course, but once I saw my finished product, I'm so glad that it was assigned. I did feel quite a bit of imposter syndrome while I was inputting my skills and experience, but creating that website really forced me to view myself as valuable. It represented something virtual but also real, something you could see that reflected who I am, what I stand for, and why I am worth reviewing for a potential job position.      I would still like to keep most of my online presence personal and fun (facebook, instagram, etc.) but my professional website is something I'm very proud of now. It also drove me to go back through my LinkedIn profile and give it a serious face lift in order to keep my information consistent across all professional platforms. All t...

What is your on-line presence? My current on-line presence is minimal at best, and almost purely used for entertainment and trolling at worst. I had never put much thought into my life online when it came to searching for a career. I always assumed that keeping a low profile was the best path in making sure that no one could find out who I was, where I grew up, or where I work and go to school. Something about putting that information online always troubled me. But I understand the paradigm shift happening and if I don’t get with the program, I might be left behind with no other choice but to follow in my parents’ footsteps and ask the “youngins” for help with simple tasks. Even trying to figure out how to post a blog was completely foreign to me and had me ready to breath fire. Like with anything though, it takes practice to master, and soon enough the things that stress you out to no end become second nature. So I guess the answer to that questions would be that I have an amateur...