Fostering Belonging
Panelists at Swarthmore College’s Innovandos Juntos pose with student moderators Angelo Phillipe Valencia ('27) and Angela Solorio ('28).
Photo by Wilber Valente-Gutierrez.
Physics and astronomy intersect with identity and culture just like any other human discipline. With two events last year, the Swarthmore SPS chapter aimed to highlight the stories of professors from marginalized communities and diminish the notion of elitism within our scientific community.
For the first event, we collaborated with the Black Cultural Center, a dedicated place of community for Black students, faculty, and professors, to host Physics in Focus: Black Professors @ Swat. During the panel, engineering professor Joseph Towles and physics professor Cacey Bester chatted with student moderators from SPS and SASS (the Swarthmore African-American Student Society) and answered questions from the audience. We also served hors d’oeuvres from a local Caribbean caterer.
For the second event, we collaborated with ENLACE, the Latine-identifying affinity group at Swarthmore, to host Innovandos Juntos. Math professor Ralph Gomez, environmental science professor Sintana Vergara, and our SPS advisor Jesse Rivera chatted with student moderators from SPS and ENLACE as attendees enjoyed horchata. One poignant moment was during the Q&A portion of the event, when a student asked, “How do I know if what I am doing is for myself rather than for my parents?” That resonated with many in the audience, including me, a child of immigrant parents.
Both events drew many students, faculty, and professors from various disciplines and departments. The shared experiences fostered a sense of community and understanding, highlighting the importance of diverse backgrounds in shaping individual journeys.
