Taking Up Space: EduLeaders of Color R.I. March Meetup

Welcome to the first in our ongoing series spotlighting EduLeaders of Color, Equity Institute’s flagship program. The EduLeaders of Color RI Education Ecosystem is a professional network dedicated to supporting and developing Rhode Island education leaders of color and allies through community events, educational programming, and professional development. Each month, Equity Institute hosts a meet-up focusing on a specific topic or theme related to education and education development. In March 2021, our EduLeaders of Color R.I. meetup partnered with Parents Leading for Education Equity (PLEE) to focus on engaging deeply at the intersection between health, science, and education. We hosted a fascinating conversation with the following panelists:

David Karambizi

David is an MD/Ph.D. student at Brown. David is from Buffalo, NY. He immigrated to the United States from Ivory Coast, West African, when he was 13. He currently works in a lab interested in studying cancer epigenetics for the development of new therapies.

Dr. Alicia E. Genisca

Dr. Alicia E. Genisca is a board-certified pediatric emergency medicine physician working in Providence, RI. She is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine & Pediatrics at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Sarah Benat

Sarah is an American-born Panamanian. She currently lives and teaches in Boston, Massachusetts. As a bilingual Science Teacher in the Boston Public Schools, Sarah develops supportive and engaging curricula that allow students to demonstrate their understanding in ways that build self-confidence.

Highlights

Dr. Genisca, the first physician in her family, talked about how BIPOC folks in science and medicine often “feel like unicorns.” In order to increase representation, Dr. Genisca has partnered with PLEE to bring BIPOC doctors and engineers into elementary and middle schools virtually, and in-person post-pandemic, to show students the possibilities before them. The chat lit up with comments like: Such a powerful story. We always need to be mindful of what we are communicating to the children we meet along our journey.

Sarah Benat teaches at a school where 95% of students are BIPOC and many are Central American, like her family. In teaching biology or chemistry and being able to explain high-level concepts in Spanish, Benat sees more BIPOC students engage in science. Removing the language barrier allows students to grasp difficult science-language concepts and motivate themselves to engage more deeply. Benat regularly takes students to Vertex labs where they get to wear lab coats and do real experiments with expensive lab equipment. These experiences really allow students to see themselves in these workplaces. In her classroom, she has integrated more biotechnology into her classroom to introduce students to a variety of careers that are open to different levels of education. In her classroom, students have conducted experiments on bacterial transformation and antibiotic resistance. She believes that more frequent opportunities for interactions with BIPOC STEM professionals give students a more robust understanding of careers available to them. Chat respondents said things like: Such a powerful story. We always need to be mindful of what we are communicating to the children we meet along our journey.

Soon-to-be-Doctor Karambizi is a former middle school teacher now in medical school who leads by asking himself: “What can I do as a scientist to get other students excited about science?” In order to demystify science and lower barriers for local students entering STEM, Karambizi uses his work at the Tapino Lab. The Tapino Lab allows students to ask questions about science and get real answers from scientists and experts. He said, “You cannot be what you cannot imagine” and the “Einsteins of this world are actually in your living room.” Participants said: Our babies have so much greatness in them and we must tap into it and unleash it into the world. We believe our children can and they will. I cannot wait to work more with David and Dr. Genisca to create spaces for families and students to see their endless possibilities

We are grateful to have been in community with everyone and look forward to next month’s meet-up!