Please join us in honoring Sirus Han and Jenna Lee for their contributions to Service and Outreach in the Geosciences.
In addition to the awardees, the Department also recognized Abigale Wyatt and Aaron Match, who were nominated by their peers and mentors for their service and outreach efforts.
The Department’s Service and Outreach Award for Graduate Students recognizes those students who have served the community through outreach and advocacy (including, but not limited to diversity, equity and inclusion) beyond the traditional definitions of ‘research’ and ’teaching.’ (See here for the 2022 call for nominations.)
The awards were announced during the Geosciences Annual Fall Picnic at Hargraves Glade on Thursday evening, October 14, 2021.
Sirus Han
A persistent and outspoken champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion in our Department, Sirus has helped build a welcoming community among graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, improving the Departmental culture at large, and leading to specific advances that made the Department more inclusive to LGBTQIA scientists, striving to increase their representation and visibility. Sirus' dedicated service and advocacy have extended after hours and beyond the Department as well, e.g. during informal gatherings on campus, in the residential undergraduate colleges, and through participation in and peer leadership of reading and discussion groups which are having an impact on the national scene.
Jenna Lee
When in late 2020, URGE was launched, a nationwide program to educate and motivate action from geoscientists to address systemic racism in our field and within our institutions, Jenna stepped up to lead a "pod" at Princeton. Through her coordination ultimately four individual "podlets" (including undergraduates, research staff, and faculty) began regularly meeting as part of a 16-week program consisting of readings and lectures, and resulting in action and deliverables such as statistical analyses of our programs' demographics, assessments of admission and hiring policies, and reflection on our codes of conduct (in the classroom, across the university, at professional meetings, and in the field). With sensitivity and tact, Jenna managed the diverse makeup and priorities of the Princeton URGE pods and their members, who unanimously praised Jenna's motivation, effort, skill - and long hours put in.