Summer Lunch & Learn
A Balancing Act: Career, Family, Self, and Society
Location
Information Technology/Engineering : 102
Date & Time
July 31, 2018, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Description
Join us for a series of informal talks on a variety of interdisciplinary topics in STEM. Meet other students, connect with UMBC faculty, broaden your knowledge, and prepare for a successful career in STEM.
Students and faculty are invited to attend one or all of these talks. Lunch is on us!
Choosing a career or a field can be an intricate balance between what you want, what your family wants, and where social pressure points exist at pivotal points in your life. Some careers “feel” great while others don’t, some careers are more widely accepted, and some careers just aren’t “good enough” for family expectations that differ so widely across cultures and generations. When walking such a fine line, decisions you make in college can feel stressful, with some sense of finality and failure attached to them. Jaishri Shankar shares her own experience and how she created (and continues to foster) a sense of balance among her own needs and passions, her family’s expectations, and the social pressures surrounding her generation.
Bio: Jaishri Shankar began her teaching career as a Teach for America corps member in rural Kingstree, South Carolina as a science teacher. There, she co-founded and led a group of teachers committed to magnifying impact outside of the classroom by launching the Teach for America’s South Carolina STEM and CS-focused initiative, InnovateSC. Ms. Shankar graduated from University of Maryland with a degree in neurobiology/physiology and earned her graduate degree in Secondary Educational Studies from Johns Hopkins University. She is currently the Assistant Principal of the Lower School at the Washington Leadership Academy in D.C.
