Taking a leadership role

Ricardo Vazquez, a fifth-year CSU student double majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology and biomedical science, is this years SACNAS president. He has been involved with the club since 2018 and joined immediately after transferring from Aims Community College in Greeley.

What drew him to the club, initially, was diversity.

Not everybody in SACNAS identifies as Chicano or is Hispanic or Native American, said Vazquez who identifies as Chicano and is a first-generation student. I really like the community because its not a student organization dedicated to promoting just one under-represented minority, it is an enginWoverarching student organization dedicated to promoting diversity in STEM by allowing underrepresented students the opportunity to have an impact in both their scientific and cultural communities.

Vazquez added: I never thought Id be the president of a student organization I never even thought Id be centered in anything. I really didnt have a community back at my old school. I came to CSU looking to be part of a community, and SACNAS really allowed me to do that. Now, the club is allowing me to take a leadership role, trying to grow it and get everybody take part in the community.

SACNAS has a robust group of advisors, faculty board members, and long-term members who are passionate about science and fostering the success of all people in STEM.

Vazquez added that being part of a community of support has been a tremendous asset, adding that SACNAS is a hub for rewarding mentorship opportunities.

Building a community that empowers us and allows us to ask for help and ask questions and be mentors for each other is really important, because you dont know what you dont know, and there are people in our community that do know and want to help, Vazquez said.

Vazquez found SACNAS through Paul Laybourn, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and advisor for the club.

Diversity and inclusion are the biggest issues in science today, Laybourn said. They are a bigger problem than funding. Diversity and inclusion affect science. Its a national security issue. If you dont have all ideas and minds at the table how can you be prepared to solve problems, to answer questions?

While SACNAS was initially meant to bring representation to a few minority groups, it has evolved to become inclusive of all minoritized groups in STEM.

We want everyone to succeed, Vazquez said. SACNAS main goal is getting students more involved in research so that they can understand fundamentally what its like to be a researcher, Laybourn said. We also seek to create a scientific community that doesnt ask you to adopt a new culture but rather introduce your culture to your research.

SACNAS is also diverse in the disciplines of science it represents. It allows students to speak to each other about their research, which teaches them to communicate about their work outside of their direct field, which is a huge skill, said Shane Kanatous, the SACNAS faculty advisor and Department of Biology professor.

While CSU has many different administrative and student efforts focused on diversity and inclusion, SACNAS is somewhat unique. Everyone in science is big on research, but not everyone is big on diversity and inclusion, said CSU student Vincent Elias, a neuroscience major and the public and marketing relations officer for SACNAS.

This semester, all SACNAS events and meetings will be completely virtual. The club leaders have developed We Hear You, Lets Talk About It, a virtual meeting series in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that provides a safe space for community members designed to foster discourse and support.

According to the organizers, the first few iterations of the meeting have been very successful, and the club leadership is looking forward to growing the community, even in a virtual format.

The club has also taken the time to develop a statement of commitment: To promote diversity within STEM with careful consideration of the Black Lives Matter movement and incidents of racial bias both on and off CSUs campus.

The action we take on campus will prepare us to take action off campus, said Vazquez.

This years SACNAS student leaders give proof that the organization is deeply committed to its mission, and ready to make change at CSU, in STEM, and around the world.

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CSU-SACNAS working to create inclusive community in STEM - College of Natural Sciences - Source