Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
Diversity was, is, and will always be pivotal to progress. This fact is something I firmly believe, and more importantly, I have experienced it first-hand in my career. I grew up in Albuquerque and was always surrounded by diversity in my classes, my friend group, and my extra-curricular activities. I was accepted to be a part of the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program and was fortunate enough to be able to present at several science diversity conferences as part of the program. Part of these conferences was taking workshops, learning about the value of diversity in STEM, and how to make ourselves seen in the world. I didn't realize how special and unique growing up in the Albuquerque Public School system and at UNM was until I left New Mexico for graduate school in 2012. I went from UNM to the University of Colorado: Boulder, where I was awarded the diversity fellowship. It was the first time I experienced living in a place where almost everyone seemingly looked the same.
As a minority myself, diversity and equity have become a colossal part of how I think about teaching every day. I strive to ensure everyone feels welcome and safe by making this point very clear on the first day of classes when discussing the syllabus. I will always include a statement about safety and diversity in the classroom and make a point to discuss it several times throughout the semester. Diversity has been proven to enrich creativity and push STEM fields forward (Wilson-Kennedy et al. 2020). Currently, only 6.2% of chemists and materials scientists, chemical engineers, and chemical technicians identified as Black or African American, and only 7.0% identified as Hispanx or Latinx, percentages that are far lower than in their total U.S. populations of 13.4% and 18.5% respectively (White et al. 2020). These are numbers that I share with my students, so they understand that a lack of diversity isn't just something that we talk about, it is fact. I look forward to diving deeper into this data to apply it more globally to all my students. The data is showing us how much we can improve as a society to push STEM fields forward simply by having minority students entering fields that traditionally have been dominated by non-minority individuals. I know that with educators, like myself, that value inclusion, collaboration, and are passionate about diversity, this number will shift to reflect the population. My goal is to always keep our students coming back, by having fun learning together with everyone feeling like they are part of something bigger than just a math class. I consistently preach that being your best self will make the world a better place, and I truly feel I am being my best self by teaching young people here in New Mexico that they can succeed.
White, K. N.; Vincent-Layton, K.; Villarreal, B. Equitable and Inclusive Practices Designed to Minimize Equity Gaps in Undergraduate Chemistry Courses. J. Chem. Educ., 2020, 98, 330-339.
Wilson-Kennedy, Z. S.; Payton-Stewart, F.; Winfield, L. L. Toward Intentional Diversity, Equity, and Respect in Chemistry Research and Practice. J. Chem. Educ., 2020, 97, 2041-2044.
