My service work focuses on mass incarceration, one of the most destructive social justice issues in America that results in millions of people—mostly those of color—being ensnared in the carceral system and discriminated against well after they leave prison. From Jan–Aug 2022, I was a tutor for the Prison-to-Professionals (P2P) program that helps formerly incarcerated people achieve higher education. I helped students set concrete educational goals, prepare for standardized exams, and develop writing skills. For formerly incarcerated people, STEM education and experience is an effective way to reduce recidivism and contribute to our country’s STEM workforce. Therefore, I worked with Dr. Kyle Cole (Director of Education and STEM Outreach, Office of Community Engagement, Stanford) to develop and fund a paid internship program that provided hands-on scientific experience for a formerly incarcerated community college student in Summer 2023. The intern worked alongside myself and others in the lab to conduct microbiological experiments and to conduct basic coding in R. They also attended the Community College Outreach Program’s Summer Career Development Bootcamp, a series of virtual workshops designed to help students build career skills for science (e.g., CV writing, applying for scholarships). The intern and I met regularly to discuss goals, and they presented their findings to our lab at the end of the internship. They are now enrolled in a 4-year college pursuing a nursing degree. This program’s ultimate goal is to provide mentorship and hands-on STEM experience for formerly incarcerated people for them to better build their own careers. I look forward to growing this internship program.
