TEACHING Teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students is an important part of my job as a postdoctoral scholar and one of the reasons I continue to pursue a career in academia. Since joining Texas A&M University, I have taught Environmental Sociology and mentored more than a dozen undergraduate and graduate students (at LSU and Texas A&M), across two separate National Science Foundation grants. Through Texas A&M University’s Debakey Leadership research program, I also advise and manage undergraduate researchers on a third ongoing “Aggie Research” project about hazards exposure to incarcerated persons. Please see my teaching statement and my Environmental Sociology course syllabus below.
SERVICE In service related to students, I spend a significant time investing in mentorship for undergraduate and graduate student researchers. I began my start in academia because a kind graduate student saw promise in me as an undergraduate. They took me under their wing to work in their lab. They invested in me personally by answering my questions about research, about unfamiliar theory, and helped me understand the confusing policies and processes of academia that are in no way intuitive. I have done the same with my students. This has been absolutely necessary in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic where students are facing enormous uncertainty. I have truly enjoyed being there for them and seeing them grow as researchers and as people with strong character.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT In service to my research partners, I work to make our relationship as equitable as possible. I make myself available to provide data analysis and I author public reports in addition to publishing in academic journals. I recently authored a public report with the Texas Prisons Community Advocates from an analysis of surveys they had collected from nearly 350 incarcerated persons about their experiences with heat and COVID-19 mitigation policies in the Texas prison system. I have also worked to provide opportunities for co-authorship with community partners including members of the Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons who I recently published an article with in the journal of Environmental Justice about how transformative justice policies and ending mass incarceration in the U.S. could increase resilience to disaster impacts for individuals and communities. I regularly make myself available through Facebook live chats hosted by my research partners to answer questions from community members. I also attend public events to speak about our work and engage with formerly incarcerated persons, the families of incarcerated persons, and other advocacy organizations.