Center for Advanced Biotechnology & Medicine (CABM), room #10
679 Hoes Ln
Piscataway, NJ 08854
Beyond Coping: A Social Perspective on Graduate Student Mental Health
A Fireside Chat
Event Description
~View the recording of this event.~
Beyond Coping: A Social Perspective on Graduate Student Mental Health
Monday, April 24, 5-7 pm
Register at: go.rutgers.edu/firesidechat
Description
Across disciplines, graduate school is a demanding experience that requires navigating both power relations and the complexities of research, career development, and graduate student life. Graduate students are also whole people, caring for children or family members, moving through graduate study as first-generation college students, and witnessing and responding to societal oppressions (i.e., racism, ableism, sexism). In this “fireside chat,” graduate students come together to reflect on graduate student mental health and explore strategies and analyses that move beyond coping to addressing the structural forces and power dynamics that inform graduate students’ experiences. Graduate student panelists and CAPS community-based counselor Shan Reeves will discuss mental health from a social perspective and explore how to identify and build solidarity circles with peers, mentors, and fellow graduate students; how to navigate difficult relationships with advisors; how to access Rutgers & community-based support services; and ultimately, how to move from an individualist, deficit-based perspective on mental health to one that accounts for the contexts and histories that shape graduate students' educational experiences.
Register to attend in person or on Zoom at go.rutgers.edu/firesidechat. Questions? Email sgsdei@grad.rutgers.edu.
Learn more about the speakers
Shan L. Reeves
Community Based Counselor
reevessl@echo.rutgers.edu
Pronouns: he | him | his
Shan L. Reeves is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who earned his M.S.W. from Rutgers School of Social Work and found his calling in direct practice. Shan has a passion for human connection and understanding people’s perspectives, while assisting them to find their truth. At the base of his therapeutic approach is that everyone has their story and truth which has cultivated their current being. From that mindset, he believes that people are learning to apply all of the skills (i.e. emotional regulation, deductive reasoning, financial management, cultural norms, etc.) they acquired in childhood in an effort to forge their future. It is his hope to assist as many people as he can in understanding their truth so they can become assertive and innovative yet flexible and humane leaders of the future.
Eric N. Chiles
Pronouns: he | him | his
Eric is a second year PhD student in the Microbial Biology program who is committed to rabble rousing to create more equitable and just conditions for graduate students and society at large. When off duty from ruffling feathers, he can frequently be found baking or watching an inordinate amount romcoms. He's happy to be serving the student body on this advisory committee, and hopes that this collective labor leads to lasting change.
Elizabeth Rosenzweig
Pronouns: she | her
Elizabeth is a 5th year PhD student at the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, where she develops statistical methods to decide whether candidate cancer drugs are effective. Recently, her graduate program awarded her their inaugural Inclusive Leadership award.
Courtney McDermott
Pronouns: she | her
Courtney R. McDermott is an NIH D-SPAN Scholar and Neuroscience PhD Candidate who has personal and professional interests in investigating the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders. She is mentored by Dr. Emanuel DiCicco-Bloom and co-mentored by Dr. Martin Blaser. Her dissertation examines the effects of early-life antibiotic exposure on the gut microbiome and neurogenesis in 16p11.2 microdeletion mice. Outside of the laboratory, Courtney is highly involved in science outreach. She serves on the board of the CABM Diversity Committee, volunteers at the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism and Services, and is the Neuroscience Graduate Mentor Fellow for the Rutgers Honors College.
Joanna Woo
Pronouns: they | them
Joanna (they/them) is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology and affiliated with the Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine and Science. Their research interests involve exploring translational models in pulmonary toxicology to address the air quality crisis in urban populations. Their main goals are to foster growing diverse communities in the world of science for easier collaboration and stimulate a love for community and identity.
Kirsten Allen
Pronouns: she | her
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, I attended the University of Georgia for my undergraduate education where I pursued my Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences along with a minor in Plant Biology and a Certificate in International Agriculture. I’m currently a Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers University pursuing my doctoral degree in Plant Biology with a concentration in Natural Products and Human Health. I’m interested in plant biochemistry and the application of plant secondary metabolites for flavor, fragrance, dietary supplement, and beauty products.
Dana Simons
Pronouns: she | her | hers
Dana Simons, MA,LPC, NCC is a Community Based Counselor at Rutgers CAPS (Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program & Psychiatric Services). Ms. Simons is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of New Jersey and is a Nationally Certified Counselor. Dana is a skilled and experienced professional who has an extensive history working with adolescents and adults in various settings, including but not limited to college counseling centers, partial hospital programs, and teaching as an adjunct professor. Areas of expertise and interest include anxiety, depression, trauma, personality disorders, and working with the LGBTQIA+ community.