Q&A with Graduate Teaching Community founder Morgan Vincent

Morgan Vincent, founder of the Graduate Teaching Community and Graduate Women in Science Grad School 101 co-chair recently shared with us her experiences starting the Graduate Teaching Community and leading Grad School 101 events. Morgan is also a chemistry graduate student and a Marie Sklodowska Curie Science Achievement Graduate Fellow in Chemistry. 

Q: What is your research area?

MV: I study the effects of copper complexation on polyfunctional thiol stability in beer and student understandings of electron configurations. 

Q: What prompted you to start the Graduate Teaching Community?

MV: I came to graduate school in pursuit of a doctoral degree so that I could become a college professor. Early in my degree program, I noticed myself looking for and never finding opportunities to teach or even learn how to be a better TA. It took a year to connect with two chemistry students older than me (Kate Baumler and Chris Haines). They were able to help me build connections and get opportunities that they were involved in. The three of us felt that it shouldn’t be that hard to find professional development for our future career in teaching, something that means so very much to us. So, we sent out a survey in the chemistry department to see how many students were interested in becoming better TAs and teaching after their PhDs. We found that nearly one-fifth of the chemistry graduate students were interested in teaching and becoming part of a community that could support them through the journey. We also figured that this issue was not unique to chemistry. 

As Chris and Kate are nearing graduation, they encouraged me to run with our idea of a graduate teaching community. With the support of the Center for Excellence in Science Education, I successfully held our first meeting, a “Meet and Greet” in December 2023. From there, I presented the idea as a poster (attached) at the Teaching Innovation Showcase, where I openly invited any interested graduate student, faculty, and staff. My goal is to build a community of graduate students who are supported by faculty and staff on campus who care about teaching.

Q: Who can join the Graduate Teaching Community? How do they join the community? 

MV: Any graduate student, faculty member (research or teaching-focused), or staff member can join! 
To kick off the semester and the official start of meetings, Dr. Neil Hatfield (Statistics), presented an Overview of Education Research. We are looking to ground our teaching in research, so this was a great opportunity to learn what is out there! At each meeting, we will switch between an education research focus and a more practical/ pedagogical focus. Interested individuals can email me at mzv5264@psu.edu and I will add you to the listserv! 

Q: How are you involved in GWIS Grad School 101?

MV: I am the Graduate School 101 Co-Chair! Grad School 101 is a program designed to familiarize undergraduate students with the graduate school application process, student life, and the process of entering graduate school. The program includes a formal presentation followed by a graduate school panel, tailored to the particular program we are presenting to. Most of the students are in research experience for undergraduates (REU) programs, however this year I have expanded to Penn State undergraduates as well.

Q: What is your role in GWIS Grad School 101? What has been a favorite moment in your role? 

MV: As a co-chair, I am in charge of coordination of the program with REU directors. Leading up to the program, I will work to find graduate students who are in the same field as the students we are presenting to. After the program has been planned, I am responsible for giving presentations and facilitating the panel discussion. We also send each group all of our presentation materials, extra resources that may help them in the graduate school application process, and a survey to learn about what the students enjoy and what they would like to hear more about! These panels are always a lot of fun. The REU directors tend to step out of the room to all undergraduates to ask the questions they wouldn’t ask their research PI or maybe even their group members. We get some brutally straightforward questions but always do our best to answer truthfully and with a positive reflection of graduate school, but more importantly Penn State. I enjoy the surveys always commenting on the lowered stress levels and relief that students feel after participating in Grad School 101. I know I had a lot of worries in my transition, so I want to clear the way for as many students as I can. Ultimately, I want to be a professor, so this is another way that I get to teach and connect with different students.

Q: How does one get involved in GWIS Grad School 101?

Email me at mzv5264@psu.edu if you are interested in being on a panel for your discipline! I am always looking for help! You can also join GWIS as there are more opportunities than you can imagine for any level of participation you are interested in, especially leadership!