Equipping Students Through Alumni Panels

Our SPS chapter at the University of Southern California (USC) hosted the Zone 18 Meeting this past spring. In addition to lab tours, a fierce physics trivia competition on Kahoot!, and keynotes on exoplanets and topological phenomena in condensed matter physics, one of the highlights was our undergraduate-hosted panels.

A Women in Physics+ panel, led by SPS member Kristi Skane, was creatively structured so that women and other gender minorities could share their experiences in physics and astronomy at various stages of the academic career path—undergraduate, graduate, and faculty member. This allowed attendees to hear a diverse set of perspectives, and we hope they left feeling encouraged to venture bravely into their passions. Meanwhile, other attendees enjoyed a fun bonding session with a game of physics charades—although some of the terms, such as “Floquet” and “topological insulators,” proved challenging to explain or act out.

Everyone reconvened for our second panel, a physics graduate student panel hosted by SPS member Rhea Richards. Many physics undergraduates are unsure of the path they’d like to take after graduating. We found that hearing advice from those a little further along their paths helped current undergraduates better understand what they want out of their careers. It also provided undergraduates with a chance to ask questions about grad school and the application process and to hear the perspectives of those who recently experienced both. Deciding what your future holds can be daunting. We hope this panel alleviated some of that stress and helped attendees decide whether grad school is a path they would like to consider.