Give your Students Roots: Help students begin their career journey

One of the most meaningful perks of my job as a faculty member in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at UC Berkeley is the opportunity to mentor students – both undergrads and grads. My job also gives me the privilege to share with students my passion for doing plant science research, and to introduce them to the exciting trajectories of possible careers in the plant science discipline. What better way, I thought, to get this latter idea across than through membership and participation in ASPB?

The Importance of Professional Development

In a recent post on Career Opportunities for Plant Scientists, Crispin Taylor emphasizes the need to raise awareness about the diverse career opportunities available to plant biologists, and the importance of ongoing professional development to ensure a thriving ecosystem for plant science now and in the future.  The best way to nurture careers, develop soft-skills, and open doors to new opportunities is through joining a community-based professional society like ASPB.

Most students have not thought, in their fledgling careers, about what a professional society can do for them.  Being exposed to the opportunities afforded by society membership can open doors to their future that they didn’t know existed. It will help them to put down strong “roots” from which their careers can grow.  As an ASPB member they will have:

  • Opportunities to participate, collaborate, and engage in communities of interest, around a variety of research areas and topics
  • Access to premier plant science publications, Plant Physiology, The Plant Cell and The Arabidopsis Book.
  • The prospect of being able to engage in meaningful K through gray education efforts in the plant sciences.
  • The capacity to make their voices heard on plant science issues in Washington D.C.
  • The opportunity to attend a mind-expanding annual meeting and listen to and meet the leaders in plant science research.

Given ASPB’s renewed focus on member services in, for example, its reinvented online presence (coming soon) that will cater to the needs and desired mechanisms of engagement and collaboration of younger members, there is no better time to Give Your Students Roots in a professional society.

Get students started on their journey to a successful plant science career today!

Simply fill out the forms and give them their first year of ASPB membership at a discount.

Leave a Comment