The Plenary is an online community blog for PLEN alumnae and supporters to mentor, collaborate, and share essential professional and life lessons they’ve learned during and after their PLEN seminars.
The Plenary
Holding up Our Mirrors: The Reflection of Supportive Women in Global Policy
I was first introduced to PLEN through an email and Facebook post from my university’s Women & Gender Center and the Career Center’s Careers in Non-profit & Government page. I felt the need to attend the Women in Global Policy seminar because growing up as a young Latina, I saw my parents watching the news, [...]
Don’t Limit Yourself
Before coming to the PLEN Women in STEM Policy seminar, I had almost no experience in understanding the process behind writing policy, especially at a federal level. I never expected to learn that there are so many different of implications of STEM in policy, from being a congressional staffer advising on policy to being a [...]
Welcome to PLEN!
I stumbled upon PLEN on a job hunting website last spring. I spent last semester abroad in Brussels, where most of my time was dedicated to exploring the city for the best Belgian waffles instead of doing homework or searching for summer internships in DC. Although I loved my internship at a European public affairs [...]
Women in STEM Policy Helped Me Confirm My Goals in the Field of Science
Since I was little, I have been fascinated with figuring out how the world works, and I found throughout my time in school that science was the way to satisfy my interests. Since beginning college, I have been debating on what to pursue after I earn my degree. Should I go to graduate school to [...]
So You Want to go to Grad School?
At every PLEN seminar, one of the questions that panelists and mentors always expect is the question of graduate schools: when is the best time to go? Where is the best place to go? What qualities make a good graduate program? How do I pay for it? With these questions and concerns in mind, the [...]
Connections from the West Coast to the East Coast
I attended the PLEN Women in Public Policy seminar after a friend of mine suggested that I look into it. The fellow students and professionals who I met, the presenters who spoke, and the panelists that discussed their paths, all made the experience worthwhile and impactful. In the past I had spent a summer [...]
Finding What Truly Makes Me Happy
I first heard about PLEN through my work-study job at the Career Development Center at Alfred State College. My supervisor at the time recommended PLEN and encouraged me to apply to get the experience. I reviewed the website and immediately knew that this organization was the right fit for me. I have experience in volunteer [...]
Preparing for a Career in Science and Policy
As a graduate student at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, I learned about PLEN through an email sent from our campus career center. With an undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of California at Berkeley, I pursued a Master’s in Marine Conservation. Since then I have concentrated my [...]
Inspired and Prepared to Change the World
Last fall, I saw several posters on my university’s campus advertising PLEN seminars. While looking at the different programs that PLEN had to offer, I was excited to see Women Unlocking Nonprofits on the list. I have always been passionate about nonprofit work, and with a double major in psychology and management, I have been [...]
4 Important Life Lessons from PLEN
When I made the decision to attend a PLEN seminar, I previously had little interest in engaging with the world of policy or government. I decided to attend so that I could learn about a new topic of interest—public policy. I had no idea how PLEN would further contribute to my academic experience since I [...]