We had a wonderful 2013 PROMISE Summer Success Institute (SSI) 10th Anniversary Celebration. Thank you, all of you, for coming, speaking, participating, sharing, and connecting! Classes will begin soon, but our campuses have plans for you … there is a reception at College Park, a lunch at UMB, and a dinner at UMBC, all coming up within the next two weeks!

At College Park: Annual Networking Reception:

Thursday, August 29, 2013 ● 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Stamp Student Union

Atrium Room 1107

http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/images/uploads/Welcome_Reception_2013flyer.pdf

At UMB: Welcome Back Lunch!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013 ● 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m

SMC Center, Room 203.

(This is the same location as the SSI. Room 203 is down the hall from the ballroom.)

At UMBC: PROMISE Fall Opening Meeting.

Friday, September 6, 2013 ● 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m

Game Room, 2nd Floor of the Commons.

RSVP here: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/18969.

Students from other campuses within the University System of Maryland, e.g., Bowie, Coppin, UMES, and others are invited to attend this event at UMBC. You may also attend the Funding Seminar which will be held the next day: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/18755 (PROMISE Alums, Dr. Patti Ordóñez and Dr. Frances Carter-Johnson, will lead this session. In total, they have been responsible for millions of dollars of funding that have come to participants in their seminar.)

Other things to consider:

1) Dr. James Green wanted to be a speaker for SSI, but he couldn’t come, so he has invited you to attend sessions on entrepreneurship education at College Park! See details here:

http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/promise-ssi-registrants-throughout-the-usm-are-invited-to-entrepreneur-office-hours-august-september-2013/

2) Remember our tips for the Fall semester: http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/prepare-for-a-successful-fall-semester-communicate-with-your-faculty-a-message-for-new-and-continuing-grad-students/

3) Please give a hearty thank-you to Miguel Nino, our PROMISE GA who is now at VA Tech: http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/congratulations-to-promise-ga-miguel-nino/

The following information was shared by Dr. LaTese Briggs (PROMISE Alum, UMBC Chemistry & Biochemistry, Current Program Analyst at Faster Cures.) Dr. Briggs captivated the audience of the 2013 PROMISE SSI on Saturday, August 17, with her call to the audience to have their G.I. Jane/G.I. Joe moments. She called for people to be academically, mentally, and emotionally prepared to step into their moments. Dr. Briggs finished her undergraduate degree at Hood College, her PhD at UMBC, and her Postdoc at the Broad Institute, a collaborative between Harvard and MIT. Dr. Briggs said that she is now in her dream job at an “ACTION” tank.  During the 2013 PROMISE SSI, Dr. Briggs participated in the During her time at UMBC, Dr. Briggs was a Meyerhoff Biomedical Fellow, A Gates Fellow, and a Peer Mentor for PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP. Dr. Briggs voluntarily provided the information below, after receiving inquires following her segment for the 2013 SSI Alumni PROMISE Talks. We thank her for being so giving of her time and expertise. 

• SSI 2013, August 17. 9:00 AM: The PROMISE Talks: PROMISE Alumni Discuss Their Research on Healthcare

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Dr. Briggs:

Thank you again for inviting me to participate in the 10^th anniversary of SSI. It is always an honor to be invited to speak at SSI, but it was truly special to participate in such a milestone event.

I have a had  few student reach out to me to inquire about the Broad Institute and I thought that it might be helpful to share my response to them with the larger PROMISE audience. I have pasted some tips and useful links on the subject below.

1.      Well before you are ready to apply (<1 year prior if possible), please be sure to study the website thoroughly to really get a sense of what is happening at the Broad. Start NOW, well before you are ready to move on to your postdoc. Do this by:

a.      Familiarizing yourself with the website

b.      Review the online  Brochures and Annual reports

c.      Review the Program areas at the Broad

2.      Identify  Faculty at the Broad whose research align with your interests and skill sets. When you select these 2-3 people, make certain that you are very familiar with the work (read their papers, understand the larger initiatives that they might be a part of i.e. chemical biology platform, RNAi platform, etc).

a.      Also try to figure out which conferences these faculty members frequent and get yourself there to meet him/her, and of course when you do, position yourself so that you can strike up a conversation. It can be as simple as “I read about your research in X, and I found Y to be very interesting, can you tell me more about this?”

3.      Develop a research proposal that outlines a project that you would like to pursue in that lab and really make sure that it is comprehensive, well thought out, and is both in alignment  and can enrich the work that is already going on in that lab (Note: this is good to do for any postdoc position that you consider, I guarantee you that it will put you a few steps ahead of most candidates).

4.      Read about the Diversity Initiative which houses the Diversity Postdoctoral fellowship program. Be sure to read this page carefully before submitting the required documents to diversity@broadinstitute.org

5.      Keep in mind that you can also reach out to a faculty member directly if you prefer, or if there are no remaining diversity fellowship slots available.

Here are some other links that will help you familiarize with the organization:

Broad Mindset/Approach

Broad Blog

Broad video library

BE THOROUGH! The key to accessing a training opportunity at the Broad is congruency. You need to be both a scientific and cultural fit – meaning that you are motivated and enthusiastic about being creative and highly collaborative.  This is truly a unique organization, so take your time with learning what the Broad is about and really put your best foot forward in the application. The website is dense and there is a lot of “hidden” information, so go through it more than once. If you are selected for an interview, be prepared to give a talk and to  meet at least 10 people during your interview. The process is intense and competitive, but keep in mind that if you believe that you are exceptional, then you are exceptional, and it will reflect as such at all times. Don’t sell yourself short; however, be prepared to perform exceptionally when they tell you YES, you can join us as a Broadie!

LaTese L. Briggs, Ph.D.

FasterCures |A Center of the Milken Institute

Program Analyst

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We thank Dr. Briggs for sharing this information!

The following information was shared by Dr. LaTese Briggs (PROMISE Alum, UMBC Chemistry & Biochemistry, Current Program Analyst at Faster Cures.) Dr. Briggs captivated the audience of the 2013 PROMISE SSI on Saturday, August 17, with her call to the audience to have their G.I. Jane/G.I. Joe moments. She called for people to be academically, mentally, and emotionally prepared to step into their moments. Dr. Briggs finished her undergraduate degree at Hood College, her PhD at UMBC, and her Postdoc at the Broad Institute, a collaborative between Harvard and MIT. Dr. Briggs said that she is now in her dream job at an “ACTION” tank.  During the 2013 PROMISE SSI, Dr. Briggs participated in the During her time at UMBC, Dr. Briggs was a Meyerhoff Biomedical Fellow, A Gates Fellow, and a Peer Mentor for PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP. Dr. Briggs voluntarily provided the information below, after receiving inquires following her segment for the 2013 SSI Alumni PROMISE Talks. We thank her for being so giving of her time and expertise. 

• SSI 2013, August 17. 9:00 AM: The PROMISE Talks: PROMISE Alumni Discuss Their Research on Healthcare

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Dr. Briggs:

Thank you again for inviting me to participate in the 10^th anniversary of SSI. It is always an honor to be invited to speak at SSI, but it was truly special to participate in such a milestone event.

I have a had  few student reach out to me to inquire about the Broad Institute and I thought that it might be helpful to share my response to them with the larger PROMISE audience. I have pasted some tips and useful links on the subject below.

1.      Well before you are ready to apply (<1 year prior if possible), please be sure to study the website thoroughly to really get a sense of what is happening at the Broad. Start NOW, well before you are ready to move on to your postdoc. Do this by:

a.      Familiarizing yourself with the website

b.      Review the online  Brochures and Annual reports

c.      Review the Program areas at the Broad

2.      Identify  Faculty at the Broad whose research align with your interests and skill sets. When you select these 2-3 people, make certain that you are very familiar with the work (read their papers, understand the larger initiatives that they might be a part of i.e. chemical biology platform, RNAi platform, etc).

a.      Also try to figure out which conferences these faculty members frequent and get yourself there to meet him/her, and of course when you do, position yourself so that you can strike up a conversation. It can be as simple as “I read about your research in X, and I found Y to be very interesting, can you tell me more about this?”

3.      Develop a research proposal that outlines a project that you would like to pursue in that lab and really make sure that it is comprehensive, well thought out, and is both in alignment  and can enrich the work that is already going on in that lab (Note: this is good to do for any postdoc position that you consider, I guarantee you that it will put you a few steps ahead of most candidates).

4.      Read about the Diversity Initiative which houses the Diversity Postdoctoral fellowship program. Be sure to read this page carefully before submitting the required documents to diversity@broadinstitute.org

5.      Keep in mind that you can also reach out to a faculty member directly if you prefer, or if there are no remaining diversity fellowship slots available.

Here are some other links that will help you familiarize with the organization:

Broad Mindset/Approach

Broad Blog

Broad video library

BE THOROUGH! The key to accessing a training opportunity at the Broad is congruency. You need to be both a scientific and cultural fit – meaning that you are motivated and enthusiastic about being creative and highly collaborative.  This is truly a unique organization, so take your time with learning what the Broad is about and really put your best foot forward in the application. The website is dense and there is a lot of “hidden” information, so go through it more than once. If you are selected for an interview, be prepared to give a talk and to  meet at least 10 people during your interview. The process is intense and competitive, but keep in mind that if you believe that you are exceptional, then you are exceptional, and it will reflect as such at all times. Don’t sell yourself short; however, be prepared to perform exceptionally when they tell you YES, you can join us as a Broadie!

LaTese L. Briggs, Ph.D.

FasterCures |A Center of the Milken Institute

Program Analyst

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We thank Dr. Briggs for sharing this information!

Today, we celebrate part 1 of the 2013 PROMISE Summer Success Institute with a Dissertation House, and a Postdoctoral & Alumni Writing Suite at the SMC Center at UMB! Postdocs and alumni may join us virtually by posting your goals here. Dissertation House (DH) participants will be meeting with Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale. Those participating in the “in-person” DH and those who are participating virtually can post their goals here: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2013-challenge/.  Let’s make it a productive day!

Today, we celebrate part 1 of the 2013 PROMISE Summer Success Institute with a Dissertation House, and a Postdoctoral & Alumni Writing Suite at the SMC Center at UMB! Postdocs and alumni may join us virtually by posting your goals here. Dissertation House (DH) participants will be meeting with Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale. Those participating in the “in-person” DH and those who are participating virtually can post their goals here: http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2013-challenge/.  Let’s make it a productive day!

PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP salutes GA Miguel Nino! Miguel graduated from UMBC with a master’s degree in Instructional Systems Development, and will be leaving us to pursue his PhD in Instructional Design and Technology at Virginia Tech.  Over the last two years, Miguel has continued to develop expertise in intercultural communication. He has also developed new skills to address issues in STEM Education, online training, evaluation and assessment, and recruitment and retention models.

Miguel is a multilingual professional who has recruited for PROMISE at the AGMUS Research Symposium in Puerto Rico, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) in California.  He has streamlined evaluation and assessment for PROMISE and has contributed to the process improvement of the PROF-it, Professors-in-Training Program. Miguel developed the video resources for the PROMISE Success Seminars: http://www.youtube.com/user/PROMISEagep.

Miguel has been an excellent collaborator. He co-authored and co-presented a paper on “Preparation for STEM Graduate Programs” at the Latin and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI) in Panama, in July 2012.  The Spanish version of his 2012 LACCEI paper was utilized during the “How to Apply to Graduate School” workshop at the 2013 GEM conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and at the  ”Foro de Liderazgo Estudiantil en Ingenieria,” in Quintana Roo, México for LACCEI 2013. He also co-authored and co-presented a paper on “Peer Mentoring” at the 120th Annual Conference of the American Society of Engineering Education, in Atlanta, GA, June 2013.

Both papers can be found here:

Carter-Johnson, F. D., Ordóñez Rozo, P.,  Tull, R. G., and Nino, M.  (2013). Examining the Intersection of Graduate Student Funding, Mentoring,and Training as a Mechanism of Success for Peer Mentors and their Mentees, paper ID#7626. 120th Annual Conference of the American Association of Engineering Education, Atlanta: ASEE.

Tull, R. G., Nino, M.  and Ramoutar, N. (2012).  Preparing for Engineering and Other STEM Graduate/Post-Graduate Masters and Doctoral Programs.  Proceedings of the Tenth LACCEI Latin American and Caribbean Conference (LACCEI 2012), Megaprojects: Building Infrastructure by fostering engineering collaboration, efficient and effective integration and innovative planning, July 23-27, 2012, Panama City, Panama.  [Spanish Version of Section 4 here: Preparación para Programas de Maestría y Doctorado].

Miguel has been a great asset to PROMISE! He made his mark during his first assignment at the 2011 PROMISE Summer Success Institute (SSI) working with other PROMISE staff members, Gloria Anglon (now at Harvard), Dr. Laura “Violeta” Colombo (now teaching in Argentina), and Natasha Ramoutar (fellow GA). He later became the “Senior” Program Assistant on the PROMISE Team, co-leading the 2012 SSI, and taking a leading role in the implementation of the 2013 PROMISE SSI: 10th Anniversary Celebration.

We will miss Miguel tremendously and we wish him the best as he pursues his doctorate, and continues to develop his skills as a global, technical professional! 

PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP salutes GA Miguel Nino! Miguel graduated from UMBC with a master’s degree in Instructional Systems Development, and will be leaving us to pursue his PhD in Instructional Design and Technology at Virginia Tech.  Over the last two years, Miguel has continued to develop expertise in intercultural communication. He has also developed new skills to address issues in STEM Education, online training, evaluation and assessment, and recruitment and retention models.

Miguel is a multilingual professional who has recruited for PROMISE at the AGMUS Research Symposium in Puerto Rico, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) in California.  He has streamlined evaluation and assessment for PROMISE and has contributed to the process improvement of the PROF-it, Professors-in-Training Program. Miguel developed the video resources for the PROMISE Success Seminars: http://www.youtube.com/user/PROMISEagep.

Miguel has been an excellent collaborator. He co-authored and co-presented a paper on “Preparation for STEM Graduate Programs” at the Latin and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI) in Panama, in July 2012.  The Spanish version of his 2012 LACCEI paper was utilized during the “How to Apply to Graduate School” workshop at the 2013 GEM conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and at the  ”Foro de Liderazgo Estudiantil en Ingenieria,” in Quintana Roo, México for LACCEI 2013. He also co-authored and co-presented a paper on “Peer Mentoring” at the 120th Annual Conference of the American Society of Engineering Education, in Atlanta, GA, June 2013.

Both papers can be found here:

Carter-Johnson, F. D., Ordóñez Rozo, P.,  Tull, R. G., and Nino, M.  (2013). Examining the Intersection of Graduate Student Funding, Mentoring,and Training as a Mechanism of Success for Peer Mentors and their Mentees, paper ID#7626. 120th Annual Conference of the American Association of Engineering Education, Atlanta: ASEE.

Tull, R. G., Nino, M.  and Ramoutar, N. (2012).  Preparing for Engineering and Other STEM Graduate/Post-Graduate Masters and Doctoral Programs.  Proceedings of the Tenth LACCEI Latin American and Caribbean Conference (LACCEI 2012), Megaprojects: Building Infrastructure by fostering engineering collaboration, efficient and effective integration and innovative planning, July 23-27, 2012, Panama City, Panama.  [Spanish Version of Section 4 here: Preparación para Programas de Maestría y Doctorado].

Miguel has been a great asset to PROMISE! He made his mark during his first assignment at the 2011 PROMISE Summer Success Institute (SSI) working with other PROMISE staff members, Gloria Anglon (now at Harvard), Dr. Laura “Violeta” Colombo (now teaching in Argentina), and Natasha Ramoutar (fellow GA). He later became the “Senior” Program Assistant on the PROMISE Team, co-leading the 2012 SSI, and taking a leading role in the implementation of the 2013 PROMISE SSI: 10th Anniversary Celebration.

We will miss Miguel tremendously and we wish him the best as he pursues his doctorate, and continues to develop his skills as a global, technical professional!