Dave Songstad shares a letter from a student:
I want to share a letter that I received from Matthew Cousins, one of the students that participated in the 2009 SIVB meeting in Charleston, South Carolina. Matt recently graduated from Clemson University and was a student in Jeff Adelberg’s lab. This letter is very uplifting for me because it affirms the positive result that the “Free Student Registration” program has had on students. It was at the 2003 SIVB meeting in Portland, Oregon, that this effort was first launched and literally hundreds of students have benefited from this over the past 6 years. I want to thank Matt for allowing me to publish his letter and to thank him for his continued commitment to the SIVB. Here is wishing Matt a successful career and perhaps one day to have students that he sends to the SIVB meeting.
Dr. Songstad,
It was a pleasure to meet you at the Society meeting in Charleston. I would like to provide you with my own view as to the importance of student outreach for SIVB. The benefits to the Society in the form of future career members are obvious; however, there are other important benefits to student involvement.
My first real exposure to “the big world of science” came with my attendance at the 2006 SIVB meeting in Minneapolis. I was afforded the opportunity to present my research in the 15 minute oral format. Also, I received the Philip White Award, which enabled my attendance by defraying my travel expenses. My first experience presenting real research to real scientists at a real meeting will always be burned into my memory. It was during that first immersion, that I learned something about myself. I found that I really did love science and research and the exchange of ideas that is of paramount importance to the success of both.
While the personal presentation experience was enriching in itself, the presentations of other scientists provided insights that helped me grasp some idea of the scope of the community. It also allowed me to understand the importance of interaction of researchers from different institutions. The presentations showcased new ideas, directions, techniques and discoveries. They helped me begin to see where my research fit into the big picture of in vitro biology and biology as a whole. More importantly, these presentations and conversations helped me begin to make connections and think innovatively about how to integrate various aspects of science in order to seek answers to bigger questions.
Integrative science became my main interest as a result of the Society’s interest in me and my training (and my exposure to science as a result of this interest). The field of in vitro biology is highly integrative and requires understanding of many disciplines for success to be realized. Thus, integrative science has become the focus of my education as I have sought to expand my sphere of knowledge beyond my plant biology/natural products chemistry/ analytical chemistry background. When choosing potential programs for my PhD, I sought out highly integrative programs combining disciplines of biochemistry, biology, human medicine, and small molecule mode of action.
I was accepted to graduate programs at Yale University, Dartmouth College, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. I decided to join the Cellular and Molecular Medicine Program at Johns Hopkins University. My application success was due in no small part to the exposure, experience, and inspiration I received by the grace of SIVB and its sponsors. While the guidance of teachers and advisors is critical to student success, context can only be gathered through meeting attendance and inter-institutional scientific discussion. This contextual understanding and the inspiration associated with an understanding of the complexity of the scientific community is critical for the ultimate success of students. I believe that this exposure to scientific meetings should take place at the undergraduate level so that the resulting understandings may serve to direct the course of graduate and postgraduate educational goals and institutional choices.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Monsanto for its commitment to SIVB. I have greatly benefitted from the outreach efforts of the Society and its sponsors, and I hope that these efforts will continue for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Matthew Cousins
Submitted by David Songstad
