Part 2: Personal Enrichment
At a panel discussion for emerging TERC leaders, Maria Blanton, Senior Scientist; Teon Edwards, STEM Education Senior Leader; Joni Falk, Center Director; Martha Merson, Principal Investigator; and Andee Rubin, Principal Scientist shared their education and career paths, challenges they've encountered, and ways they've advanced their work.
Part 1 of this series shared words of advice for the work environment from these extraordinary women. We hope these quotes on personal enrichment in Part 2 aide you in developing successful careers in STEM research and education.
Ask for help
People do ask for help. The smartest people I know have developmental editors. The most statistical savvy people I know have psychometricians as advisors on their boards. Let yourself receive help.
—Martha Merson
Confidence can be learned
Taking on projects that weren't always in my wheelhouse gave me confidence in myself as a learner. Having this confidence in oneself is something you can develop over time.
—Andee Rubin
Find things that balance you
My faith and my family are the core of my identity so when one of my papers or grants gets rejected, I don't feel like everything has fallen apart. It stings for a bit, but then I move on to the next challenge. I love this job but it's only one part of who I am.
—Maria Blanton
It all works together
Have a rich life and bring it to your work.
—Martha Merson
Find your passion
A mentor once said to me, 'all you need is fire in your belly and passion for what you're doing.' That really stayed with me and helped me persist.
—Joni Falk
Value your own path
We all have meanderings and there's no straight line or typical thing that gets people to a job. It's these different paths that inform the way we do our work.
—Andee Rubin
Start now
Don't wait until you feel ready or you receive some sign from the universe. Throw yourself into it now and be ready for the job to feel too big. I always say, I'm wearing a huge t-shirt and one day I might grow into it.
—Martha Merson
