Student Veterans Research Network

Founder

As student veterans active in the student veteran community, a few friends and I found that most career advice and services provided for veterans was geared towards careers in the private sector after obtaining a bachelor’s degree. We found a frustrating lack of discussion among veterans educations groups of the specifics of pursing gradute school and the “soft skills” of research careers, the types of careers we were pursuing. Throughout undergrad we helped each other pursue research opportunities, apply for scholarships and fellowships, and build our CVs for grad school applications. We all recieved multiple grad school offers, and all were awarded the competitive NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. We found ourselves wanting to share our knowledge and experience with other student vets, and to help fill the gap in veterans education discussions and connect with other student vets interested in research careers and graduate school. We started the Student Veterans Research Network to build a community of student vets with similar backgrounds and career goals, to pass on what we’ve learned, learn from others, and encourage each other in pursuit of our goals.

SVRN is open to any graduate or undergraduate US Military veterans in any field who are pursuing or considering pursuing a career in research. Visit www.svrn.org for more info and to join us. You can follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SVRN_vets.

Warrior Scholar Project

Research Project Leader

Warrior Scholar Project runs two-week academic boot camps for veterans and active duty military members who are considering going to university. The first week is humanities and writing, second week is STEM. As part of the STEM week, students attend lectures on math and physics, work through problem sets, tour science labs, and pariticipate in research projects in some field.

I served as a Research Project leader in 2020 (virtual) and 2021 (on UA campus) in which I taught students about exoplanet detection, orbits, and simulating orbits, then had them explore and simulate their own planetary systems using Kepler light curves. In 2022 (on UA campus) I developed a new project on combining RV and transit exoplanet data to derive density and temperature information to decide if a planet could be an "Earth 2.0".

Image: 2021 WSP students tour the MagAO-X lab and clean room.

Space Drafts | Astronomy on Tap Tucson

Organizer and host

Astronomy on Tap is a worldwide network of local shows featuring astronomy talks by scientists, educators, artists and more in a local bar. In Tucson, AoT operates as Space Drafts and meets monthly at Borderlands Brewing. I am one of the organizers and hosts of the Tucson show, and previously had served as organizer and merch for AoT Austin TX (2017-2019).
Image: Astronomer Arash Roshanineshat delivers a Space Drafts talk in 2022.

Join our mailing list and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for show info and updates!

Diana Davis Spencer Scholars Consultant

Consultant

Thanks to a grant from the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, Warrior Scholar Project has created cohorts of WSP alumni applying for graduate programs. The DDSS cohort receives resources, one-on-one consultations, workshops, and peer mentoring through their application process. Since 2022 I have served as a consultant for the DDSS scholar cohort.

Steward Observatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (SO DEI)

During the turmoil of summer 2020, the grad students at Steward were motivated to take action to address diversity and equity in our department. We formed the SO DEI organization of grad-student led task forces tackling issues and working to improve diversity efforts in several key areas of our community. I serve as the liaison for the Mentoring task force, which focuses on improving the quality of mentoring relationships at all levels within Steward Observatory.

UA’s NSF GRFP Application Development Program

Consultant

The Application Development Program assists grad students and undergrads in preparing competitive application materials for the NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program and other graduate fellowships. I serve as an editor, providing feedback and guidance on application material drafts.

Woody's Stars

The foundation supporting students in STEM started by my friend Charity Woodrum in honor of her late son Woody.



Veterans Research Symposium Proposal Slides