Emily Anthes Extra Credit

I was extremely excited about seeing Emily Anthes speak at the Neuroscience banquet, but perhaps not for the most obvious of reasons. Yes, I enjoy her writing, the topics she covers, the way she writes. I've really enjoyed reading Frankenstein's Cat and blogging about it for our Neuroscience Seminar, and I think she is extremely adept at making science easy to understand. That is her job, after all. However, what I was really interested to hear about, and luckily she spoke about it during the Q and A following the talk, was how she ended up in the career she is in. As a psych major and neuroscience minor who rarely finds myself drawn to the more "typical" careers in the field (research, etc.), it is always exciting to see someone who has stayed within the sciences, but found a unique and creative way to apply it. As college students we so often get hung up on what we should be doing, what most people are doing, or what we are expected to do. As a result we spend very little time thinking about what we want to do, what we love, and what we are passionate about. Emily Anthes did just that, when she discovered she wasn't cut out for lab work, instead of powering through, like so many students do, she sought out something she enjoyed more and made a new path for herself. I think that this should be a much more common topic of thought and discussion in the sciences. While the typical careers paths will always be popular and necessary, there are other ways to make yourself a place in the sciences, ones that are also necessary and should be getting more attention and praise. If we motivate more young people who are passionate about science, but perhaps not in a typical way, to go out and advocate for the sciences, perhaps as a writer like Anthes, or in other careers, they could do wonders for public opinion and acceptance of science, something that is sorely needed. Anthes did a good job reminding us that everyone has something to contribute, even if it's what is typical or expected. Sure, many science major ARE passionate about the typical paths, and that's great, but maybe if just a few of us follow our passions in different directions we can enter, or create, new and different career paths that can be equally as useful.