"The Department of Biological Sciences is now the largest undergraduate department in the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences. There are almost 1,200 students declared across our majors (Biological Sciences, Computational Biology, Ecology & Evolution, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology) and many (MANY) other students who take classes in the CLC complex. While we are very proud that so many students love biology enough to call it their home during their time at Pitt, some of our students report feeling a bit overwhelmed by the numbers - having a hard time finding their "place", feeling anonymous, not knowing how to get to know their teachers and build their network. This year, the Bio Peer Advisors received a Forge Your Own Path grant to build opportunities for biology students get to know each other, alumni, and faculty. We will be doing this both on-line - through Pitt Commons, a newish digital networking tool, and in-person with regular professional development and social events. We will also publish a series of interviews with biology faculty that will bring in-person one-on-one meetings to the community. On-line Community Building Pitt Commons is a new on-line networking site - similar to LinkedIn, but focused on building community among Pitt-affiliated students, alumni, faculty, and staff. Within Pitt Commons, students can join interest 'Groups' to find others on-campus - and beyond campus (in the 'real world') to build "networking or mentoring relationships". We have recently formed a Department of Biological Sciences interest group and are now recruiting current and former undergraduate students from the department to join. Want to hear from former BIOSC students currently in medical/dental/optometry school? Now we have a place to build those connections! Thinking about a career in nursing v. physical therapy - how about asking former students how they decided? As we build our on-line group, we will also begin invited alumni back to campus to move some virtual relationships into the real world! Students can join by signing up for Pitt Commons and joining the Department of Biological Sciences group. In-person Community Building Last week we held our first student-faculty breakfast where we brought together a small group of students to have breakfast with Dr. Debbie Chapman, Dr. Stefanie Hedayati, and Dr. Erica McGreevy. (before FebrNext month, we will be holding our second student-faculty breakfast with Dr. Jeff Brodsky, Dr. Nathan Brouwer, and Dr. Suzanna Gribble. Start building your network now by reading a bit more about these faculty:
Students can earn the opportunity to join by signing up for Pitt Commons and joining the Department of Biological Sciences group - before February 7th. Biology Faculty Interviews
To break down some barriers, our Bio Peer Advisors will be interviewing faculty in our department so that the whole community can get to know them a bit better. These interviews - as blogs and/or videos - will be shared on our PittBioBlog and give you the opportunity to find out some behind the scenes info on your favorite (or not) teachers - where did they go to school? Which classes did they like (or note!)? How did they choose their current career? What do they do when they are not in the CLC complex? Have your own ideas of how to build our community? We are looking for suggestions for professional development and social events, faculty to invite for breakfast or lunch, and faculty who you would like to see interviewed. Please share your ideas here or email to Jessica at [email protected]. And don't forget to follow us on facebook (www.facebook.com/pittbioadv) and/or instagram (pittbioadv) to find out about blogs and events
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This term we have 12 amazing upperclass bio majors supporting our Department by giving their time to work as Bio Peer Advisors. 10 of these amazing students are returning from last term (and even last year!) and we have 2 new students joining our team: Hope & Kayla! Stop by office hours this semester to say hi and get to know our Bio-PAs a little better. Kayla Downs Junior Majors: MOLBIO & ANTH Minors: CHEM & GSWS Career? Genetic Counseling or Biomedical Research Hi! I am a Junior Molecular biology major who spends my days practicing with the sailing team, petting my cat, and now hopefully answering all your questions about Biological Sciences at Pitt! I have experience working with graduate researchers and would love to help you get involved with research too. I can also help you balance a schedule and plan ahead with multiple majors or share experiences as a UTA in the department. I am an open book who loves to listen and to share advice on classes, professors, studying, and life! Hope Martin Junior Major: CMPBIO (previously E&E) Future Programmer Hi! I am a computational biology major on the path to becoming a software engineer post graduation. It took me a while to decide on a major so I also can answer questions on the ecology and evolution major as well as the environmental science major through the geology department. A few fun facts about me are that I am a DJ for Pitt’s radio station and work for Pitt’s Student Computing Department. Students can ask me about software engineering internship applications & interviews, computer science classes, how to get internships for biology (I was an intern for the National Aviary last summer), finding biology research, Pymatuning research, and environmental science classes. |
Pitt Bio BlogThe Pitt Bio Blog is maintained by the Department of Biological Sciences Advising Office. Posts are authored by our students Archives
January 2022
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