Over the years the years I was fortunate to be supervised by mentors who understand my difficulties and actively cultivate my strengths. I strive to provide the same support I have received to people who are experiencing challenges. I have mentored a group of low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented high school students who conducted summer research internship at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO). During my undergraduate years, I volunteered to tutor students struggling in math and physics from low-income families. In my early twenties, I found myself a volunteer science teacher in an impoverished school for the daughters of villagers living on the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal.

In addition, I recognize that geoscience relies on remote outdoor research, which for a variety of reasons, can make it uniquely inaccessible those for whom remote travel poses a great hardship. With that in mind, I successfully fundraised to lead a field trip to Peru, fully organized and guided by myself with the assistance of a colleague, so that LDEO’s graduate students can experience first-hand geological phenomena associated with subduction zones. I designed the trip so no use of personal funds was needed and that accessible transportation was available, to ensure that financial and physical hardship was not a barrier.

During my doctoral pursuit I also served as a teaching assistant for a number of classes at Columbia University. Below you can see observe some of the highlights from these moments: