Q&A With DNA Day President Anna Maria Calderon

Anna Maria Calderon, president of DNA Day at Penn State and Science Ambassador recently shared with us her experiences with DNA Day at Penn State. Anna Maria is also a biology graduate student and a Barbara McClintock Science Achievement Graduate Fellow in Biology. 

Q: What is your research area?

AMC: I study conservation and population dynamics to predict and understand how birds will respond to changes in their habitat. 

Q: How did you get involved in DNA Day at Penn State? 

AMC: I grew up in an underrepresented community where science outreach events were non-existent. As a graduate student, these early experiences and my love for doing community service motivated me to seek leadership and mentoring roles that help bring engaging science to underrepresented communities. Dr. Marcella Baiz, a post-doc in my lab at the time, was running DNA Day by herself. I saw the vision of DNA Day, it lined up perfectly with my values, so I jumped at the opportunity to help make it bigger! 

Currently, I am the President of DNA Day at Penn State as well as a Science Ambassador! DNA Day is open to all who have an interest in DNA or use DNA in their research and have a passion for science outreach and mentorship. Our recruits mostly consist of graduate students, post-docs, and faculty!

Q: How can people get involved in DNA Day at Penn State? 

AMC: There are two ways to participate in DNA Day. You can join the DNA Day Planning Committee! If you have a passion for science outreach, community service, and want to gain valuable leadership experience, joining the planning committee is a great way to get involved behind the scenes. As a Committee Member, you can help plan the annual DNA Day event by recruiting Science Ambassadors and high school host teachers, developing science modules, building DNA extraction kits, and managing the logistics of the event. You can also join as a Science Ambassador! If you have a passion for science outreach, community service, and mentorship, volunteering as a Science Ambassador may be a good fit for you. As a Science Ambassador, you will gain teaching experience, engage in science education outreach, help destigmatize what it means to be a scientist help broaden participation by underrepresented groups and inspire future generations of scientists. There’s still time to sign up as a Science Ambassador using this form!

Q: What has been a favorite moment during DNA Day? 

AMC: My favorite part of DNA Day is actively bridging together the scientific community and the public. I love hearing back from high school teachers about how much fun their students had connecting with real scientists as well as seeing how excited our science ambassadors get about this event!