by Xorla S. Ocloo, a University of Michigan graduate student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I can’t remember the first time I participated in a STEM outreach as a kid. Maybe it was because I wasn’t exposed to those opportunities or maybe because they weren’t as prevalent or maybe just because I wasn’t interested. I spent most of my childhood in preparation for a career in the humanities. In elementary school, I loved using my hands to create beautiful sculptures I could present at art competitions. In high school, I dropped the clay and picked up a pencil. Writing gave me the opportunity to use my imagination to create short stories, speeches, and memoirs. I was more exposed to the humanities and therefore had more opportunities to improve in that field. Things changed when I was in my third year of high school. I dropped the pencil for the first time in years. I became obsessed with teeth and braces and realized I could use biology and technology to create the perfect teeth alignment, and in some way, still create the perfect story and the perfect sculpture. At the same time, I still didn’t think science could bring that same joy writing and sculpting did.
I truly fell in love with science at the age of 21. Three brilliant scientists at the University of Illinois offered to lead about 17 students to the Smoky Mountains for a two-week complete exposure to the various ecosystems. Now, my first thought was, “Why would I do this??” My latter thought, the one that spoke the loudest, asked, “Why not, Xorla? You’ve never camped before. Take advantage of this new experience.” So, I did and loved every moment of it. Even the tough times. For the first time, I slept in a tent, hiked up mountains, and understood the true meaning of camping. I woke up to the sun rays beaming down my eyes coupled with the beautiful songs from nearby birds. Observing and interacting with the environment was something I could do and something I enjoyed. I loved learning about the different salamanders in the region, the different fungi, and the different plants (yes, even the plants!). It was an experience I’ll never forget and will forever be grateful for. Check out some smoky pictures from 2015 below.
So…so what? I had this amazing experience and was introduced to nature. Awesome. But what about others who haven’t had that opportunity? This brings me to why I actively engage in outreach now and strive to implement it in my future career. I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that camping trip to the Smoky Mountains. I wouldn’t be a graduate student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and I wouldn’t be researching parasites in primates. Those two weeks in the Smoky Mountains opened my eyes to the complexities of nature and to a colorful canvas that I had failed to see before. It was ultimately the experience I was waiting for and the push I needed to realize students from underrepresented backgrounds have the potential to excel in STEM, or as a matter of fact, anything they put their mind to with the right tools and resources. There’s no doubt that we’re all curious about the world and what it has to offer, but sometimes the unknown evidently stops us from exploring new avenues. I want to open those doors and provide opportunities for students to find their passion, whether that be in STEM or something completely different.
Okay so let me just put it out there: I.Have.The.Best.Lab. I’m able to meet my academic goals as well as my outreach goals because everyone sets a great example of being a dynamic scientist. We have Marcella (our senior graduate student) who has done Young Scientist Expo, Molly (second year PhD student) who has volunteered at Cranbrook, Susanna (first year PhD student) who has participated in Scientist Spotlight, Adrian (third year PhD student) who has participated in MI DNA Day, and Liliana (our advisor) who has presented and led activities at various schools across the United States and Latin America. Not to mention the awesome undergrads in the lab (Cassandra, Noah, and Mays) who have participated in other events across campus. The list is extensive and never-ending because it’s what we want to do and love to do. We share this common interest in outreach which is why I suggested we volunteer with Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering and the Sciences (F.E.M.M.E.S) as a lab. F.E.M.M.E.S is an organization geared towards increasing female participation in STEM fields. It attracts middle school girls from across the Ann Arbor area and aims to build confidence in the STEM fields as well as spark curiosity. Some of us in the lab have volunteered as group leaders in the past, but I thought it would be a great idea to be activity leaders. Unsurprisingly, we were all excited to take on this new adventure and instill lab tradition.
1. Come up with the activity (duh)
2. Execute the activity (“no big deal”, said no one)
Goal 1:
The idea for the activity came quickly (of course something “sciency” and biological). Liliana had mentioned that students often have a challenging time understanding phylogenetic trees (something I wasn’t surprised about because I’m still learning, ha ha!). This was a perfect opportunity to brush up on our knowledge of phylogenetics and teach younger students about how to interpret the relationships depicted in these types of trees. Adrian and Molly came up with the cool activity idea of having the students first pin species to the tips of tree branches initially based on morphology and then giving them a slightly difficult set of organisms to pin on the tree based on morphological and molecular data as the second task.
Goal 2:
Marcella suggested that we create a short PowerPoint presentation giving a brief overview of evolution and phylogenetics, so Susanna, Cassandra, Molly and I first started with that!
Molly started us off by talking about biodiversity and primates. I then talked about characteristics that all primates share, and then Cassandra took on the challenge of breaking down how to read phylogenetic trees (courageous and successful move!).
Susanna then walked students through understanding phylogenetic relationships by using examples of chimps and humans. As a bonus, she also shared some interesting life history facts about other animals.
Next, it was the students’ turn to do the activity!
We gave them a set of species that included a pink river dolphin, an orca, and a grumpy cat. We had the students glue down each of the organisms on the tips of the branches. Most of the girls nailed it on the first try, placing the cat as the outgroup and the orca and dolphin together! They clearly exhibited the understanding that orca and dolphin were more related based on morphology.
The second task included the following species: African elephant, elephant shrew, black rhinoceros, Darius the giant rabbit, Keen’s mouse, and a shrew. This task was a bit more challenging because most people would think that the elephant shrew and the shrew were closely related, but the African elephant and the elephant shrew are more closely related to each other! Why? Because they share a more recent common ancestor than either of them do with shrews, a relationship we know because of DNA. This was a hard task that some girls got right because they looked passed size and focused on key phenotypes. When we asked some of the girls why they put the African elephant and the elephant shrew together, they said it was because they both have similar trunks and ears regardless of dissimilar sizes. I was completely blown away and proud. We reminded them that sometimes morphology isn’t as obvious in determining phylogenetic relationships. We can use more powerful tools such as genetics to understand relationships among different taxa.
Wrapping it up :
Diversity is the lab. It’s in our broad array of research topics, our ideas, our experiences, and our backgrounds. It is the root of why we partake in outreach: to continue increasing diversity in every way possible.
“Sharing your research with the public and showing our youth what being a scientist is like.” – Susanna
“Sharing knowledge or ability gathered from one’s unique opportunities with individuals or groups that have not had those experiences.” – Cassandra
“A way to inspire the general public so that they may better understand biology and can thus make more informed every-day decisions to help learn about and preserve the natural world. It is also a way to engage aspiring younger generations of scientists to learn about what they love every day.” – Molly
