Outreach, Community Service, and DEI

Outreach

I am committed to outreach both on campus and in the broader community. At UCR, I am involved in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Geoscience Outreach Program (GEOP) which brings Earth Science activities to local elementary and middle schools as well as museums and community events. On campus, I mentor undergraduate students through the UCR Center for Undergraduate Research and Engaged Learning, particularly focusing on students applying to graduate schools and prestigious undergraduate research fellowships like the Goldwater. Lastly, I volunteer with my alma mater, Oklahoma State University, as a mentor for several programs in the office of undergraduate research. Most recently, I helped lead a workshop at the Doel Reed Center in Taos, New Mexico for OSU students applying to the Goldwater, Truman, and Udall scholarships. 

Community Service

One of my proudest achievements since then has been helping establish and organize a chapter of the International Front Runners, an LGBTQIA+ running organization, here in Riverside. DEI cannot be constrained to the classroom. It demands to exist throughout our lives, and I strive to be an active and inclusive model as I build and support the LGBTQIA+ community in a way that was lacking as I grew up in spaces claiming to be welcoming but were out of tune with my identity. I have also been involved with the local Riverside City Council Sister City Committee for Riverside's partnership with Sendai. We maintain a Japanese Friendship Garden in Riverside as well as assist an exchange program between Tohoku University and UCR. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

My time in Oklahoma and at UCR has given me invaluable experience, context, and insight into my role as a proponent of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It has transformed my perspective on the role of Earth science research beyond academia. Our research can promote equitable solutions for societal problems, but those solutions must involve the communities at hand. A transformative course I took was on American Indian Sovereignty taught through the OSU Center for Sovereign Nations. Discussions in that course emphasized the need for Indigenous ownership and invovlement in science where it has historically been excluded. Looking ahead, I will draw on my roots as an Okie, apply my experiences from OSU and UCR, live out my identity as a gay scientist, and strive to always keep listening, learning, and moving the Earth sciences forward in inclusive and equitable ways.