Student Highlights from the SETAC North America 45th Annual Meeting

Bonnie Ertel, Adam Wronski, Katie Mayer and Mara Walters, North America Student Advisory Council (NASAC)

The SETAC North America 45th Annual Meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, was another great experience for the students of SETAC North America, with engaging student events hosted by the North America Student Advisory Council (NASAC) and other groups. As per usual, NASAC organized both the Student Noontime Seminar and a night of socializing, bingo and trivia at the annual Student Trivia and Mixer.

Before the meeting officially began on Sunday evening, SETAC hosted a Newcomers Meet and Greet to welcome new members of the society and discuss how to make the most of the annual meeting. The NASAC chairs were present to meet new student members and share information about NASAC’s mission of advocating for students within SETAC. The meeting then officially kicked off with a lively opening ceremony and reception, featuring a photo-op with a Texas Longhorn Steer. The Fort Worth Convention Center’s large exhibit hall hosted many great exhibitor booths, poster boards and the NASAC Student Corner, which had comfortable seating, games and free SETAC stickers.

On Monday, the scientific program began with an excellent plenary speaker, packed sessions and busy poster socials, celebrating the meeting theme, “Biodiversity: It’s Worth Saving.” On Monday evening, the Student-Mentor Dinner, hosted by the Careers Committee, was a great opportunity for students to connect with seasoned SETAC members from government, business and academia, all at the same table. This multi-sector approach allowed for career conversations, helpful tips and meaningful mentorship over a delicious dinner. Tuesday’s schedule packed in much more science, along with the Women in SETAC Luncheon and a screening of Ben Master’s documentary, “Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story.” NASAC also held an interest meeting for students, where both current and future members got to meet in-person and discuss initiatives for the coming year.

Wednesday was the busiest day for NASAC. At the Student Noontime Seminar, hosted by NASAC, Jeffrey Steevens gave an impactful talk over lunch, which was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive. Steevens is a long-time SETAC member and has worked with both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey, where he is currently a research toxicologist at the Columbia Environmental Research Center serving as a co-lead on the USGS PFAS Integrated Science Team. Through the use of pictures and stories, Steevens outlined his personal experience working in the government as a research toxicologist. His inspiring career pathway sparked conversation and questions from students interested in working for the U.S. federal government.  

Following the afternoon platform and poster sessions, a lively evening of trivia and fun kicked off at the Student Trivia and Mixer, hosted by NASAC at Curfew Bar in downtown Fort Worth. The cozy basement bar was decked out in Halloween decorations, including a disco-ball-filled spider web! This event was coordinated and emceed by NASAC members Leenia Mukhopadhyay (Ph.D. candidate, Carnegie Mellon University) and Mara Walters (Ph.D. candidate, William & Mary). Mara said:

Leenia and I could not have been happier with the great turnout and response to the event! Everyone I spoke to had a great time and loved the venue.

The night started off by welcoming students with bingo cards to introduce themselves and meet other students. Bingo questions had students searching to meet peers who have published in SETAC journals, made an A in organic chemistry, or traveled internationally for this meeting, among other prompts. This turned out to be a great way to get students talking and resulted in extra trivia points to those who completed their cards. After socializing over pizza and drinks, the student attendees divided into groups for trivia. After five rounds of trivia covering everything from SETAC history to pop culture, the winners were the “Duck River Dangersnappers,” who won gift cards and bragging rights until next year’s trivia event.

After a busy week, Thursday wrapped up the meeting. This annual meeting gave the many students joining us from across North America and around the world an invaluable opportunity to learn, build their professional network, and grow as the future scientists of SETAC. Student Neha Redkar (Ph.D. candidate, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay) said that:

The SETAC conference provided an incredible platform to engage with leading experts and peers in environmental science. The discussions, presentations and networking opportunities enriched my perspective and inspired innovative ideas for my research. I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to be part of this vibrant community.

We couldn’t agree more! On behalf of NASAC and all student members of SETAC, we would like to thank all of the staff, volunteers and sponsors who made the Fort Worth annual meeting so successful and beneficial for our student members.

As of the conclusion of the annual meeting, Bonnie Ertel (Ph.D. candidate, University of South Carolina) is now the NASAC Chair, Adam Wronski (Ph.D. student, Baylor University) is now the NASAC Outgoing Chair, and Katie Mayer (Ph.D. student, Virginia Tech) is now the NASAC Vice Chair. As we work towards the SETAC North America 46th Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, NASAC is busy planning student activities for the event.

If you have any ideas or would like to be involved in this process, please join one of our monthly calls! Additionally, we will be co-hosting virtual workshops throughout the year in collaboration with the SETAC Careers and Science Committees. NASAC will continue to discuss our plans and advocate for the students of SETAC North America in our monthly meetings. We are always looking to grow our group and encourage all interested students to join one of our meetings to learn more about who we are, what we do, and how you can be involved. If you are interested, please join our affinity group and see the meetings tab for our next scheduled call, or reach out to any of the chairs.

Author’s contact: [email protected]