Trailblazing and reflecting: A president’s look back at the impact of University of Arizona Postdoctoral Association
Moving to a new city can be daunting and finding friends as a postdoc is even more challenging—where do you meet new people? Knowing there's a welcoming group to help you learn about your new community is so helpful. That is exactly what the University of Arizona Postdoctoral Association (UAPA) provided me when I started my postdoc in 2017—a community full of postdocs who were going through the same experiences.
In Summer 2018, I was approached by Keaton Wilson, UAPA Chair at the time, to apply to join UAPA’s Executive Board (EB). I cared deeply about the well-being of the postdoc community and leapt at the opportunity to participate in building a strong support system for my fellow postdocs.
Today, there are nine official UAPA members, including the EB and Committee members. UAPA has worked closely with the Postdoctoral Affairs (PA) office to organize a multitude of professional development and social events. This collaboration has allowed PA to better understand the issues faced by the postdoc community and to be a better advocate for postdocs. In collaboration with Arizona State University, UAPA and the PA office helped stage the first Arizona Postdoctoral Research Conference (APRC) in 2019. Every year since, APRC is held during the National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW) at one of our two institutions. These events celebrate the postdoc community and provide a platform for postdocs to share their research and connect with their peers. Outside NPAW, UAPA highlights UArizona’s postdocs in the Postdoc Spotlights and continues to encourage postdocs to share their academic endeavors.
UAPA has been instrumental in organizing professional development and social networking opportunities for Arizona postdocs. They have facilitated panels on Faculty Interviews, Navigating Faculty Positions, How to be a Successful Postdoc, How to be a Good Mentor and workshops on CV Building, Grant Writing, and Navigating the Job Market. To support the international postdocs, UAPA has also organized an Immigration Webinar. UAPA regularly hosts Happy Hours, Hikes, and Potlucks that bring the postdoc community together. During the pandemic, normally in-person get-togethers were hosted online to allow the postdoc community to interact with their peers. In 2021, UAPA created a Discord channel for better communication within the postdoc community and it has proven to be a valuable resource.
As an outgoing UAPA Chair and EB member, my advice for UAPA members is to continue building the support for postdocs by interacting with postdocs from different disciplines and diverse backgrounds, and to continue being proactive in curating and sharing resources that postdocs will benefit from.
And most importantly, to spread the word about UAPA—an association for postdocs, run by postdocs. It goes without saying that I had the pleasure of working alongside amazing postdocs. I want to thank all the former and current postdocs who have volunteered their time to make UAPA the success it is.