{"673435":{"#nid":"673435","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Postdocs Share Lessons Learned Throughout Academic Journey","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe experiences of those who have overcome barriers and unexpected roadblocks can serve as guiding beacons as you navigate your own academic journey. Georgia Tech postdoctoral scholars (postdocs), Avery Davis Bell, Ida Su, and Nicole Hellessey share how they navigated different challenges during their educational career and how these experiences have shaped their perspectives on life and work.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EPrioritize Your Well-Being: Avery Davis Bell Makes Work-Life Work for Her\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI developed a repetitive strain injury in my wrist, which was debilitating, and I took it on as a second part-time job,\u201d said Avery Davis Bell, postdoc in the College of Sciences. \u201cI needed to figure out how to make my work life work for me instead of fixing the body I have.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBell decided she had to be open with her prospective postdoc advisor about her injury. She let them know from the beginning that she was not going to work based on hours. When Bell explained her situation and her emphasis on protecting her health, she was met with support from everyone. She learned that, at the end of the day, what mattered was doing good work and not how many hours it took to get there.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBell\u2019s injury turned into a valuable lesson she imparts to students.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf you have interest in science, you can make it work for you,\u201d said Bell. \u201cYou do not have to adapt to the prevailing model. Science is better for having you in it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EAdvocate for Yourself: Ida Su Navigates Cultural and Communication Challenges\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring her Ph.D. qualifying exams, Ida Su, postdoc in the College of Engineering, encountered challenges due to her hearing disability and language barrier as an international student from Taiwan.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI could see their lips moving, but I couldn\u2019t hear what they were saying clearly,\u201d said Su. \u201cI didn\u2019t have the courage to speak up for myself.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt that time, Su felt hopeless. With support and encouragement from her Ph.D. advisor and her Ph.D. advisory committee, however, Su sought medical help for her hearing disability and her communication improved.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs Su progressed in her studies, navigating the differences between Eastern and Western cultures still proved difficult.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI tend to be very shy. I tend to let people, especially senior people, tell me what to do and make decisions for me,\u201d said Su. \u201cBecause of these cultural differences, the initial stage of my Ph.D. study was kind of rough.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EObserving these dynamics, Su\u2019s Ph.D. advisor explained the differences between the cultures. They encouraged her to start speaking up for herself.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBecause of their advice, I was able to choose my postdoc advisor based on my research interests, and I was able to follow my passion,\u201d said Su.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EA Nonlinear Journey is OK: Nicole Hellessey Navigates Parenthood and Career Choices\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen I finished my bachelor\u2019s degree, I took 18 months off because I was unexpectedly pregnant,\u201d said Nicole Hellessey, postdoc in the College of Sciences.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHellessey spent the next 18 months after graduation reviewing her options and deciding if she should get a job or go back into academia and research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was talking to a friend who was going back to university themselves, and they said, \u2018You should do it. Who cares? You will make it work,\u2019\u201d said Hellessey. \u201cI went back and did my master\u2019s and go a job in the salmon industry afterwards.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHellessey worked in the industry for two years before deciding to obtain her Ph.D., and eventually a postdoc.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThese postdocs\u2019 experiences are a reminder that your journey is your own, and success does not follow a set path. Evaluate what matters to you, and find support in family, friends, peers, and mentors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Postdoc Visibility Project is a collaboration between the Office of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Services, the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Tech\u2019s postdocs. Our goal is to highlight the contributions of postdocs to the research enterprise, humanize the postdoc experience, and connect postdocs to each other. To achieve this, we will share three spotlight articles and accompanying video interviews throughout the Spring 2024 semester. This is the second installment of the Project. View the first spotlight article and video, \u201cMyth vs. Reality: Essential Facts to Know about Postdocs.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis work is supported in part by the National Sciences Foundation Mathematical and Physical Sciences divisions ASCEND program under grant award number CHE-2138107.\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAny opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech postdoctoral scholars (postdocs), Avery Davis Bell, Ida Su, and Nicole Hellessey share how they navigated different challenges during their educational career and how these experiences have shaped their perspectives on life and work.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech postdoctoral scholars (postdocs), Avery Davis Bell, Ida Su, and Nicole Hellessey share how they navigated different challenges during their educational career and how these experiences have shaped their perspectives on life and work.\u00a0"}],"uid":"36249","created_gmt":"2024-03-08 21:57:57","changed_gmt":"2024-07-25 15:49:13","author":"Sara Franc","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-03-08T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-03-08T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673352":{"id":"673352","type":"image","title":"Avery.jpg","body":null,"created":"1709935061","gmt_created":"2024-03-08 21:57:41","changed":"1709935038","gmt_changed":"2024-03-08 21:57:18","alt":"Photo of Avery Davis Bell","file":{"fid":"256736","name":"Avery.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/03\/08\/Avery.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/03\/08\/Avery.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":441307,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/03\/08\/Avery.jpg?itok=-miKeTeZ"}},"673428":{"id":"673428","type":"video","title":"youtube","body":null,"created":"1710776595","gmt_created":"2024-03-18 15:43:15","changed":"1716321495","gmt_changed":"2024-05-21 19:58:15","video":{"youtube_id":"ekumd2uAym4","video_url":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ekumd2uAym4"}}},"media_ids":["673352","673428"],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"69901","name":"Postdocs"},{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"191866","name":"C-PIES"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sara.franc@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESara Franc\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommunications Officer\u003Cbr\u003EOffice of Graduate and Postdoctoral Education\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}