This was my first time attending SACNAS, and it gave me the chance to explore an area of STEM I hadn’t interacted with much before. Most of my experience is centered around statistics and data science, so being in a space focused on life sciences and bio research introduced me to perspectives and applications that were new to me. I appreciated being able to see how different disciplines connect in ways I hadn’t considered.
This was my first time attending SACNAS and I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to do so. On the first day I attended, a mariachi led a procession of attendees from the keynote speaker’s event to the exhibition hall with recruiters and graduate program representatives. As an indigenous Latinx woman I am often not in spaces where my culture is represented.
This year was my second time attending the SACNAS conference, and it made me pause and think about how much has changed since my first visit. Back then, I was a senior in college trying to figure out my next steps and learn about graduate programs. I didn’t expect the conference to be the place that pushed me to actually apply. What stood out to me most during that first visit was how genuine everyone was. People truly wanted students to grow and reach their full potential. It was also where I learned more about the MA in Statistics program.
This year marked my third time attending SACNAS, and somehow it still didn’t cease to amaze me. I’ll be honest, coming in, I was nervous. I kept hearing about conferences struggling with low industry attendance, and I worried this year might not be as meaningful. And yes, there were definitely more universities than companies, but even with that, I still made valuable connections and discovered internship and training opportunities that genuinely aligned with my interests. What stood out the most, though, was witnessing my own growth through the lens of this conference.
