As part of this year's International Education Week, Rio Salado College held a panel discussion on November 17 called Together We Rise: Collaborating With Students to Achieve Their Goals Across All Borders and Beyond All Boundaries. The event featured a trio of student moderators interviewing faculty members about international education, inspiring a wide-ranging conversation about the needs of students and how both educators and curricula need to stay flexible to address the dynamic times we live in.
Together We Rise was moderated by the team of:
- Sonia Tom, who is pursuing an Associate of Arts degree in political science at Rio with plans to transfer to ASU afterward to continue her poli-sci education and start a pre-law pathway.
- Carrie Rubel, who completed an Associate of Science in computer sciences at Rio.
- Veronica Cassaras, who started at Rio in our Adult ACE program and is now working on completing an Associate of Arts degree for nutritional science.
The panel of faculty members were:
- Dr. Lily Davidov: Accounting and Small Business
- Dr. Michelle Traveler: Computer Information Systems
- Shawn Korman: Physical Sciences
- Dr. Rick Vaughn: STEM Initiatives
- Dr. Nuria Sanchez: Director of Student Success (Glendale Community College)
Before the panel discussion began, the faculty members shared their experiences as both educators and students.
“I think the biggest barrier I faced in education is being a woman in science, in chemistry,” said Korman. “Back when I was getting my undergrad, there were maybe one or two other females in all my classes and labs... I’m happy to say I’ve seen that change drastically, even just during my time of teaching, and seeing students move forward in chemistry and other physical sciences.”
Davidov shared her inspiring story about immigrating from Russia and moving to Phoenix where her first academic advisor was a fellow future Rio faculty member, Mitra Mehtraban. Davidov talked about how she was inspired by her business classes and the can-do attitude of American entrepreneurs toward overcoming hurdles to their dreams.
“I really love that entrepreneurial spirit,” Davidov said. “Barriers- I don’t call them barriers: I call them opportunities.”
For Vaughn, his viewpoint that educators and curricula need to adapt and be flexible to meet the challenges that current students face was shaped by his daughter, a 25-year old software engineer at Microsoft.
“I see the world through her eyes,” Vaugh said. “That helped me really realize the extent to which the education journey has changed for a lot of students.”
Sanchez spoke movingly about her experiences as a student from a minority background working in fields with (at the time) poor representation influenced her future as an educator.
“The honors classes I attended, I was generally the only brown student in those spaces,” Sanchez said. “Being a part of that and growing up in poverty, I knew that in order to get out of that cycle that my parents grew up in I needed to leverage education.” Sanchez quoted Nelson Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
Traveler’s own struggles with imposter syndrome struck a chord with the student moderators, who expressed similar feelings to her. “Is this where I’m supposed to be,” Traveler said, summing up what it feels like to be in the grips of imposter syndrome. “Everyone else knows what they’re doing and it’s just me that doesn’t know.”
Rubel kicked off the panel by asking Traveler what strategies students should use to foster stronger academic and professional connections. Traveler suggested that everyone should create a LinkedIn account that they regularly update and to use their account as a way to connect with classmates, professors, and college leadership and administration.
Traveler also encouraged people to build up their digital presence in other ways, but cautioned students to be mindful about the kind of footprint they’ll leave behind online.
“Watch what’s public, make sure you’re not putting up party photos with drinks,” Traveler said. “Think about the professional aspect of what you’re doing and be cautious about what you have public and what you keep private.”
When asked a similar question by Rubel but with a focus on connecting with people in the world of physical sciences, Korman stressed the importance of intention.
“Be intentional when you’re in that online space,” Korman said. “Introduce yourself, use office hours for your professor if you’re struggling. Utilize discussion boards for your classes if they have them and talk to classmates. Networking is super important. When we’re in a physical classroom, it happens organically. But we don’t get that as much in an online class so we have to be intentional.”
Korman also suggested using LinkedIn to contact professionals in the field you want to enter to ask them specific questions, go to seminars, participate in projects out in the science field. These are low pressure activities that get you in the networking mix.
Rubel’s final question was to Vaughn, asking him about the stability and utility of one’s education when technology and industries are constantly changing.
“What I tell my daughter and what I also tell all of our students in our semiconductor courses is don’t prepare for a job, prepare to move within an industry,” Vaughn said. “The students who really thrive are the ones who master not a single role but focus on understanding how their work connects to all the people upstream and downstream from them. … You’re not training for some static set of skills. You’re training to get into that field that’s going to update and you need to reinvent yourself within that field every 18 months, as well. But the supply of people who can adapt to those changes doesn’t grow nearly as fast, so the person who’s ready to adapt is gonna have that career stability and upward trajectory.”
Tom asked Sanchez how political systems could be leveraged to create more inclusive intentional educational initiatives for marginalized communities. “I think about access and voice,” Sanchez said. "Oftentimes policy can feel very far- like it’s not something we can influence- but policy begins with people. Where there’s an opportunity to have real change is to start locally, and when we can connect our students to the communities that are helping to shape those decisions.”
Article by Austin Brietta