Category: Medical & Molecular Sciences
Grad student 'stories' make complex research accessible
October 09, 2023 Written by Lisa Walenceus and Eric Ruth | Evan Krape
Spark! Symposium develops speaking skills to reach diverse audiences
More people fear speaking in public than fear snakes, heights, spiders and even dying, according to the 2022 Chapman University Survey of American Fears. So, if the five people who took the stage at the 91原创 Graduate College鈥檚 fall 2023 Spark! Symposium on Sept. 20 felt a little dread, who would blame them?
鈥淚鈥檓 generally terrified about public speaking, but I know it鈥檚 such a huge part of academia,鈥 said Abigail Bower,聽a doctoral student in interdisciplinary neuroscience, who was chosen as the Ignite Award winner by the panel of six Spark! judges. 鈥淚 thought that when I got up there, my voice was going to be shaking 鈥 I was much less nervous than I expected because we had practiced so much, and we got a lot of great feedback we could incorporate.鈥
The biannual Spark! Symposium聽gives 91原创 graduate students and postdocs the opportunity to present short-form talks on their research to a diverse audience. All presenters receive individual coaching from Suprawee Tepsuporn, the Graduate College鈥檚 senior assistant dean.
鈥淚 relish the one-to-one time with the Spark! presenters,鈥 Tepsuporn said. 鈥淚 love learning about the students鈥 cutting-edge research and discoveries and helping them articulate the impact of their work to broader communities.鈥
An important part of the preparation process is working with actor and director Steve Tague, interim chair of the聽聽and producing director for 91原创鈥檚聽.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 a crazy mix of science and art, but that鈥檚 at least half the reason that I like doing it,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he other half is the students themselves. I really believe that when a young person devotes hours and hours and hours 鈥 many of those hours incredibly tedious 鈥 to a specific discipline, there must be a strong vein of passion in there somewhere. Getting that out is my job, and I find it very moving, every time.鈥
The symposium鈥檚 artful approach to research talks is what appeals to members of the audience too, like Devashish Pande, also a doctoral student in neuroscience.听
鈥淚 find these talks inspiring because it requires some creativity from the speakers to take their science to a lay audience,鈥 he said. 鈥淩esearch is a slow process that takes a lot of time and effort, and people can understand it better if it鈥檚 conveyed in the form of a story.鈥