At Bayer CropScience, Lindsey and I had the wonderful opportunity of talking with every major department from sales & marketing to research and development. Our unofficial mentor/agent, Danielle, kept our schedules full of a variety of experiences. Some days, we independently worked on curriculum for Bayer’s Making Science Make Sense program. Other days, we interviewed team leaders. Other days (my favorite days), we worked alongside of the scientists and joined in their tasks.
When I worked at the innovation center, I had several ah-ha moments. Before I visited, they asked me to submit questions to them. When I arrived, they printed a sheet with my questions and their answers! We spent an hour or so going through the questions and clarifying ideas that were previously confusing to me. Then, a scientist walked me through the process for transgenic product development from research to production. It enabled me to make sense of many of the things I had already seen at the RTP campus and continued to see throughout my visit. Since one of my responsibilities at Bayer is to make curriculum for middle school students, Marie sat down with me one afternoon and we walked through a few practical classroom experiments and discussed how they related to the work at Bayer. I felt our time together brought the entire innovation center internship full circle!
On December 15, Lindsey, our mentors, and I are meeting to discuss what we want the long-term impact of our fellowship to be. How can we maintain a long-term partnership with Bayer CropScience? Being the first Kenan Fellows at Bayer has been an exciting experience, but I believe it comes with the responsibility to strengthen the program and prepare future Bayer fellows for their experience. Also, we plan to organize and present materials at Bayer’s teacher institute in June 2016. More to come on this later (especially after our December 15th meeting).
I am grateful for the mentors at Bayer CropScience who have sacrificed their time to help me understand the STEM corporate world. Their expertise is truly the lifeblood of the Kenan internship experience.
A general note on the power of a mentor: I believe in the power of a good mentor both professionally and personally. It you want to learn how to be a doctor, find a good doctor. If you want to learn how to play tennis, find a good coach. When I attended the recent News & Observer STEMology event, one of the panel speakers recommended to a young scientist that he find a mentor. When I reflect on my own career, I think of mentors, such as Mrs. Penny, Mrs. Nelson, and Mrs. Bartek, whose expertise and patience strengthened me. Honestly, I probably would not have lasted in education without the encouragement of these ladies. Ironically, not all of these ladies were serving in formal mentor positions, but they certainly did the work of a good mentor. Now, that I am a little further along in my career, it is time for me to become the mentor. (Although I am firm believer that we never grow too old or too wise to be a mentee!) Through the Goodnight Scholars Program, I am mentoring a college freshman who wants to be an elementary school teacher. It is exciting to see her enthusiasm for teaching. I think part of my responsibility will be to help her navigate the profession while taking the every-changing climates in stride.
Today’s Takeaway: The best mentors are the ones who have the BRAIN of a scientist (or doctor or whatever field you’re interested in), and the HEART of a teacher. Take time to find a mentor, and be a mentor.