"How on earth did I end up here?"
My first day at the National Science Foundation (NSF), this thought was firmly on my mind. As I walked into the towering building that is the new NSF headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, I just kept wondering what had led me to this point and if I was where I was supposed to be.
There were plenty of people to ask me that question in case I hadn't already been wandering. No less than 4 security guards asked me where I was trying to go. I had to walk through the metal detector twice, even though it didn't beep the first time. Finally, I made it to a small visitors seating area and waited until the person I was supposed to meet came to get me.
That person was Dr. Sherrie Green, Program Manager in the NSF Office of Integrative Activities and the woman in charge of NSF's Summer Scholars program. She is also a Black woman who, as far as I can tell, has had pretty much every type of job you can have with the NSF. As she led me around the building, she told me about her journey to where she is now. She talked about how all of the summer scholars, primarily students from underrepresented backgrounds, feel like her children. She showed me pictures of past interns. We talked about how PhD programs can be so trying for women of color and that we have to fight to keep things in perspective. She talked about wanting to help the next generation in any way she knew how.
Her story felt familiar. This is the same story I tell when people ask me why I, as a graduate student, devote so much time to service and mentorship of the students behind me. And as Sherrie nears a well-earned retirement, someone will have to step up and fill that role. For now, though, this is how I know I am in the right program-- and in the right place.
