#30DaysOfScikuChallenge
The Female Academic
A science haiku: Science and Soul prompt
Female scientist
Just trying to earn her spot
Among all the men.
I was so thrilled to receive the prompt from R. Rangan Ph.D., to write a haiku about science — a sciku.**For more on the #30DAYSOFSCIKUCHALLENGE — science-inspired haiku.
I am a scientist, researcher, and clinician. But it’s so hard to own my scientific identity.
I struggled in academia. I felt so isolated and powerless as a Middle-eastern female student amidst a sea of white men in power. I think about how I was a hidden mentor to so many female students. How I fought for more egalitarian procedures in our program. And how I desperately craved to feel like I had a place.
For this reason (among many), I’ve been so grateful to find a writing community of womxn who really see me. To my tribe, Caroline Kelly, Shruthi Sundaram, Randye S Spina, Phoenix Huber, Manasi Kudtarkar, Karina Klaus, Victoria A. Fraser, May Pang, thank you for your empowering messages. I absolutely love bearing witness to your courage and compassion. And a huge thank you to Itxy Lopez for your commitment to building a community of womxn who aim to lift each other in a way that is so rare in…
