Guest Podcast: Uncomfortable Questions

Today, I have a special guest posting a blog post about the first episode of her new podcast. The podcast will be a starting point for conversations about diversity in STEM, which is a topic I have wanted to address for a while on here. I hope you enjoy her perspective on diversity. Enjoy!


Guest Post about podcast: Uncomfortable Conversations

Hello! My name is Jessica Reyna, and I am a Chicana woman in STEM. I study physics at my university, where I am also the President of my local SACNAS chapter. One of my biggest goals is to promote diversity/inclusion in STEM fields.
For this podcast, I wanted to begin discussions about the hard questions people have about diversity in STEM. Diversity and inclusion is such a broad topic, and choosing three out of the various underrepresented groups was challenging. What presented an even greater challenge was trying to implement the stories of four scientists from various backgrounds into a single episode. In the end, I ended up talking about three groups: minorities, members of the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities.

Hearing my guests about diversity and ways to improve it in STEM was really rewarding and to know people care means a lot to me. I  especially liked learning more about the LGBTQ community since I want to better myself as an effective ally. It amazed me how much I can do with the privileges as a straight female for this community. I was also surprised to hear other students wanting to weigh in their opinions and tell their stories as well. The power of storytelling can change minds! It is my hope that those who are currently involved in the sciences hear this message and begin improving on ways to promote diversity in STEM and spark some science in younger generations to pursue a career in STEM.