Beyond The Bench: Stemulating Career Conversations

Before Dr. Alveda Williams entertains a new opportunity, she asks: 1.) Is it fun? 2.) Is it impactful? 3.) Do I have anything to contribute? This has been key to her accepting roles throughout her career that have been challenging, rewarding, and satisfying.  Her beyond the bench experiences include contributing to the efforts of a corporate acquisition, leading the United States PhD recruiting strategy, and even a role leading a team of HR professionals.

Even though personal branding is not bragging, people find it difficult to promote their unique skills and accomplishments to aide in their career development and progression. This hot topic is on what personal branding is and tips to begin your rebranding process.

Dr. Beronda Montgomery is a plant scientist by training, and leverages her technical expertise to advance a professional development area that she is truly passionate.  She masterfully uses the analogy of plant care and maintenance to illustrate the importance that a nurturing environment plays in mentoring. She has written extensively on the topic of mentoring, particularly within the STEM community and has been recognized for her work in this area. Follow her on Twitter @BerondaM for STEMulating and thoughtful tips on mentoring. Articles written by Dr. Montgomery about mentoring: Montgomery, BL. (2017). Mapping a Mentoring Roadmap and Developing a Supportive Network for Strategic Career Advancement. SAGE Open 7(2), http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244017710288 Montgomery, BL (2017). Three Sisters and Integrative Faculty Development. Plant Science Bulletin, 63(3): 78–85, https://issuu.com/botanicalsocietyofamerica/docs/webpsb63_2_2017/25 Montgomery, BL (2017). Growing from adviser to mentor.

Dr. Dale Wesson shares his journey from a chemical engineering undergraduate student to a VP of Research in Higher Education Administration.  He gained valuable experiences along his non-linear journey to the PhD, which included resigning from the same company twice.  Through all of this, he credits having a strong family support system as the main reason he has been able to have a successful career and a healthy family life. If you enjoyed this conversation and would like to connect with Dr. Wesson, you can follow him on Twitter @gdalewesson or reach him via email at dwesson@ vsu [dot] edu

Zach Cross went from a high performing synthetic chemist to a top technical salesperson.  The non-linear path that he took to get there, however, is the best part of this STEMulating conversation.  Through a series of events, Zach Cross realized that chemistry in a macroeconomic sense was changing, and he had to both adjust and adapt to remain relative and competitive.  He also shares his love for running and how he has been able to incorporate it in several phases of his career.  He has organized a successful fundraising event for his company and as a calling card to develop rapport with potential clients.  Zach shared that running allows him to focus and applies it to everything he does in life, from being a husband, a dad, and a professional.  As this episode aired, he completed another milestone of 600 consecutive days of running at least 1 mile. Check him out and follow his running streak on social media using the hashtag RunningDad

Have you ever been grateful that some things didn't work out the way you wanted them?  Dr. Sibrina Collins began her career journey on a path to the professoriate, but a disappointing tenure decision forced her to reassess what she really wanted to do in a career.  She began to walk in her purpose of serving the STEM community in a way that truly aligns with her passion which led to her current roles as the first Executive Director of the Marburger STEM Center at Lawrence Technical University. Dr. Collins shares her story, and gives solid advice to those who may be facing a challenge in their current role, and also addresses the importance of self-care and family. Mentioned in the episode: Marburger STEM Center at Lawrence Technological University Claflin University Sweet Tea!  A Southern delicacy Careers for Chemist: A World Outside the Lab Dr. Collins may be contacted at scollins @ltu [dot] edu

Carl is a thought leader in the field of management and leadership training for scientists and technical professionals.  He is the author of the widely popular Lab Dynamics: Management and Leadership Skills for Scientists which is available on Amazon. Interesting fact that we learn about Carl in the conversation is that he is a trained physicist, who early in his career, was tasked to lead a hematology lab!  From there he went on to become a tenured professor, then left the academy to fill an executive role at a biotech company. 

The host, Marquita M. Qualls, PhD aka "Dr. Q" is a living example of someone who decided to leave the bench and pursue a career that helps others achieve their goals.  Though a chemist by training, she commands a masterful understanding of the human aspects needed to thrives in today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment. This has enables her to function and make seamless transitions between the scientific and non-technical worlds. This show is built around non-scripted STEMulating Conversations with those who started out doing laboratory research, then ventured Beyond the Bench to use their skills and experiences in other ways.  If you have guest or topic recommendations for the show, please send them to podcast@stemulatingconvo.com   Mentioned in this show: Adrienne at Groovetheory Designs: http://groovetheorydesigns.com Stephen Hart and the Trailblazers podcast:  http://tbpod.com