What Is a Fancy Scientist? Embracing Diversity in Science Beyond Gender and Race
Well, that is what this podcast episode is all about! Despite running a blog for 7 years, changing all of my social accounts, and forming my small business under the same name, I realized I never really told the story of HOW I became known as the Fancy Scientist…
And it’s important to me because over the years, I’ve received emails from numerous members of my audience who’ve read my story and told me that it really resonated with them, that they also didn’t feel like they quite fit in in the wildlife biology field.
My nickname goes back to when I was a postdoc, working on the eMammal project with middle school teachers. To them and their students, I didn’t look like the stereotypical scientist, especially a wildlife biologist. For starters, I’m a woman, and I showed up to work in makeup, high heels, and with sparkly jewelry. Proudly defying these norms, I became known as the Fancy Scientist.
But I didn’t always proudly defy these norms…
But later, when I fully embraced being a Fancy Scientist, and working in the eye of the public in bright colors and glitter, I served as a reminder to both myself and the future generation that you can be both fancy AND a scientist.
As a business owner, I also defined what being a Fancy Scientist means through my company values. And I didn’t want it to be exclusive. What about people who aren’t fancy in the traditional sense that we think of? Can they be Fancy Scientists too?
The answer is yes! What you’ll learn from this episode is that being fancy is more than just makeup and sparkles; it’s about being unexpected, unconventional, and apart from the norm. But most importantly, it’s about the courage to be yourself loudly and proudly!
Specifically, I go over:
- The origin of the name “Fancy Scientist”
- What is a Fancy Scientist, and how I define it to be inclusive
- How the public, especially children, perceives scientists
- The importance of representation and breaking stereotypes in science
- How community science engages the public, especially children
- Mental health and how to be true to yourself
- and MORE!
Listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts:
https://stephanieschuttler.com/131-what-is-a-fancy-scientist/
Wildlife biologist 🐘 Mentor 👩🎓 Your Biggest Career Cheerleader 📣 Communicator 👥 | Showing animal lovers how to get their dream job✨ | Connecting people with nature for conservation 🌿 and community 🏙️
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