Women’s History Month is an annual declared month, celebrated in March, which highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. The 2016 theme honors women who have shaped America’s history and its future through their public service and government leadership. Berkeley Lab’s Biosciences Area Emery Station Operations Center (ESOC) is celebrating the occasion with a number of activities for its staff and local students.
On March 3, “Women and Investing,” a Financial Education Workshop by the University of California, was organized for ESOC’s staff. The aim of this workshop was to tackle a potential lack of confidence about money management and investment that women may face. Our staff learned about how to get organized; build and own a plan; and the retirement and income planning options for singles.
In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, in partnership with Young Women in Bio, an after school event bursting with activities was organized for middle school girls. After a pizza party, the students learned about what is bioenergy, toured JBEI’s labs, had a panel conversation about careers in science, and participated in three hands-on table top activities about bioenergy. The students had a great time, with one of the students stating she wished to return the following day!
On March 9, Catherine Adams, a Plant & Microbial PhD Student at UC Berkeley (Bruns Lab) gave a seminar to ESOC’s staff on, “How to use social media to advance your research career.” In addition to a busy research career, Adams is passionate about communicating science to the public and has written for Slate and BBC Earth. At the seminar, Adams gave advice on how to use social media effectively to disseminate research, help shape public policy, and even generate research funding. To learn more about Adams, visit her website.
