It’s hard to believe that, after two years as a postdoc with the Center for Public Engagement with Science (PEWS), I’ve just finished my final week. I came to the University of Cincinnati fresh off of a PhD in Philosophy, and was excited to learn how I could use my skills and background to support an interdisciplinary team dedicated to bringing people and science together here in Cincinnati.
Since then, I’ve had the privilege to help organize all kinds of awesome events and activities: field trips, where I saw for myself how important having an insider’s look at a university can be for young students, public-facing events which brought together community members to discuss some of today’s most pressing issues, and trainings which taught students and faculty alike how to communicate about science in a time when such communication is desperately needed.
I’ve met and partnered with people who have motivated and inspired me, from the many UC faculty and staff who are affiliated with PEWS, to local partners and organizations in Cincinnati, to the graduate and undergraduate interns who I’ve had the pleasure of mentoring. One such partnership, with faculty in the Anthropology department, even led to an incredible trip to Uganda and a storytelling project that will continue into the next phase of my career. I’m so grateful for all of these relationships, and hope that these connections will persist even as I move on from this role.
I also had the opportunity to develop some initiatives of my own, most notably the “Where We Are Planted” theater project. I have long been interested in how theater and the performing arts might be used to help people think in new ways about the environment around them. With PEWS’ support, I partnered with local theater educator Carol Brammer and the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) to bring local environmental stories to life on stage. I was amazed and humbled by the generosity of the local Cincinnatians who shared their stories, and by the commitment and talent of the SCPA highschoolers who transformed those stories into a work of art on stage.
Perhaps the best part of all was getting to work with such an amazing core team: Angela Potochnik, Max Cormendy, Melissa Jacquart, Lucas Dunlap, and Eduardo Martinez. You could not find a more dedicated, welcoming, and passionate bunch. I am incredibly grateful for their mentorship, support, and friendship. I’m excited to take all that I have learned from them into my next chapter.
This fall, I’ll be starting as Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics. I believe that my work as a philosopher and scholar has been greatly enhanced by my time spent with PEWS, and I look forward to finding opportunities to engage the public in my new context. I’m wishing Mia, the new PEWS postdoc, all the best, and can’t wait to see how she will shape PEWS going forward.
And to everyone: thank you, thank you, thank you, for making me part of the community, and for a truly wonderful two years here in Cincinnati.
