Many Thanks and Congratulations to Maggie, Adriana, and Angel from Postdoctoral Affairs!

The end of a school year marks the bittersweet signs of change. Here at Postdoctoral Affairs, we say goodbye to three wonderful Graduate Associates (GAs) who have made enormous contributions to support our mission of helping postdocs in their professional development and in cultivating community.

Margherita (Maggie) Berti, a PhD candidate in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT), was the sole GA for Postdoctoral Affairs from August 2018 to January 2020. Maggie’s creativity and dedication resulted in the development of valuable resources and opportunities for postdocs at the University of Arizona. As Maggie moved out of the GA position, two more SLAT doctoral candidates joined the Postdoctoral Affairs team for the spring 2020 semester: Angel Steadman and Adriana Picoral. Angel and Adriana arrived in January and immediately took over the managing of workshops, the Postdoc Speed Talk Competition, postdoc award and grant review sessions, and the many other activities that go on at Postdoctoral Affairs. Adriana and Angel have worked especially hard to raise awareness of resources offered by Postdoctoral Affairs and of the accomplishments of UArizona postdocs through Twitter, Facebook live, and other social media.

All three GAs have brought their own special energy to Postdoctoral Affairs.

“My favorite part about working here was the ability to contribute to creating a community for a group that previously did not have one prior to the establishment of Postdoctoral Affairs,” Steadman said. “Being able to continue the work of others before me and be able to keep that community, especially in this weird semester, felt really nice. It was fun to get creative and respond in innovative ways to the challenges that came up as everything went online.”

“Prior to Postdoctoral Affairs I had only been teaching, so my only professional experience was teaching in a classroom,” Berti said. “Here, I was in an administrative position. I got to help people with their next steps. I liked being creative and making things happen. I think everything I learned will be very valuable to my next steps as well.”

“It was interesting for me to see how much I could actually expand my own community through this community,” Picoral said. “I am a data science ambassador by combining workshops in my area with postdocs who I knew would be interested.”

The GAs also had some parting words of advice to the UArizona postdocs.

“Take advantage of all the resources, workshops and grants that are offered. Explore the website, find opportunities that can help further your success at UArizona,” Berti said. Steadman agreed and also suggested that postodcs “reach out to other postdocs in other departments to expand your thinking and collaboration.”

Picoral’s advice was “Apply! Apply! Apply! Apply to the grants, awards, competitions, everything. At best you win an award or grant. At worst you get feedback which is material to help you grow for the next application.”

Jenny Hoit, the Director of Postdoctoral Affairs, has the highest praise for Maggie, Adriana, and Angel. “To say I have been extremely fortunate to work with these three talented and brilliant women is an understatement. They (and their predecessors) have made Postdoctoral Affairs what it is today. Maggie was the creative energy behind the establishment of the Postdoctoral Professional Development Certificate, the regular postdoc social gatherings (Coffee Buzz), the weekly email correspondence, and several other resources that we continue to provide to postdocs. Adriana and Angel hit the ground running in January and, without missing a beat, picked up where Maggie left off. They also brought a new energy to our use of social media and technology in general… something that couldn’t have come at a better time. I give them full credit for how well we made the quick conversion to online events such as orientation, the speed talk competition, workshops, and so on. Postdoctoral Affairs is a strong, dynamic, and resource-rich entity because of the amazing contributions of these GAs, and our new GA, Mare León, who will be following in their footsteps and bringing her own creative energy to the task.”

Over the next year, Maggie will complete her dissertation. Angel and Adriana have just completed their PhDs and are taking on new jobs. Angel Steadman will be moving to Seattle to teach at Highline College. Adriana Picoral has accepted an assistant professor position in Data Science in the School of Information at the University of Arizona. Maggie, Angel, and Adriana  have had a lasting impact on all of us at Postdoctoral Affairs and they will be greatly missed.