On Friday January 14th the first of an anticipated quarterly series of social events for Biology graduate students took place. The concept for this entirely student-funded gathering was developed by myself (Scott Neal, MCB) and co-organizer Sean O’Toole (Neuro) with two goals in mind. First, it would represent an opportunity to introduce first year students to their more senior classmates, many of whom they have not yet had occasion to interact with. Additionally, it would generate a greater sense of community amongst all students in the Neuroscience and MCB graduate programs. We strongly believe that social interaction is an integral part of graduate student life. Too often students become isolated within their own labs and we wished to provide a means to change this. By encouraging our colleagues to engage each other outside of the academic forum their graduate student experiences, and by extension their scientific productivity, might be improved. This interaction may also foster inter-lab collaborations and promote mentorship opportunities.
Nearly half of all enrolled graduate students in the MCB and Neuroscience programs were welcomed to this event where they enjoyed snacks, beverages and conversation. It provided an opportunity for graduate students to breach the normal social barriers (e.g. working in different buildings) and to learn about the interests of and approaches taken by our classmates as they develop their young careers. One attendee commented “We really need to do this more often; this was a great idea!” Based on the success of this event we hope to expand future gatherings to include post-doctoral fellows and other life science graduate students. These inclusions might create additional mentorship opportunities and will broaden the perspectives of all participants.
We all stand to benefit from camaraderie within the Brandeis Life Sciences community, whether it be from the ease at which we can walk down the hall to borrow a reagent or by the simple pleasure of recognizing each other and exchanging a brief “hello” as we rush to our next experiment. Thank you to all of the students who participated and otherwise contributed to the success of this inaugural event.
