Dallas to host national conference of minority students and professionals in science – SACNAS – Advancing Hispanics/Chicanos & Native Americans in Science

first-generation college student from a farm-working community, Judit Camacho hurdled barriers to get her college degree.SACNAS — an organization of scientists dedicated to fostering the success of Hispanic/Chicano and Native American scientists — helped her leap over those obstacles, just as it has helped thousands of others since its inception in 1973.

“We found a place passionate about both science and the community,” said Camacho, now executive director of the organization based in Santa Cruz, Calif. “SACNAS is able to bridge both.”

With its membership of educators, students and professionals, SACNAS provides people across the country with a network of support, allowing students to talk one-on-one with fellow students going through similar situations. Through SACNAS, they can connect with professionals who can share their own experiences about pursuing a career in science and using science to help the community. The network of support through SACNAS helps people attain college degrees, reach leadership positions and establish careers.

That outpouring of support continues Oct. 15 (Thursday) to Oct. 19 (Sunday) as minority students and science professionals gather at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel for the annual SACNAS National Conference, titled “Improving the Human Condition: Challenges for Interdisciplinary Science.”

“The conference is the hallmark of SACNAS — an important time when we bring all of our collective efforts together,” Camacho said.

One of the keynote speakers will be Nobel Laureate Michael Brown, MD, Paul J. Thomas Professor of Molecular Genetics and Director of the Jonsson Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. The conference will include mentoring and training sessions, research presentations, exhibits, networking activities and cultural performances.

Camacho attended her first SACNAS conference in Chicago in 1994 with about 500 other people. Today, the conference has grown to about 2,700 people — its largest number ever. The event includes nearly 300 exhibitors from universities and federal agencies and 1,500 minority graduate and undergraduate students. About 800 of those students are presenting their scientific research, competing for awards, and receiving vital mentoring and feedback on their work and presentation skills.

The conference gives students direct access to opportunities that can lead them to graduate school and to research opportunities that pave the way for their career.

But beyond the conference, SACNAS provides year-round support for minority students and professionals, helping them build partnerships to further their education and careers. Now, SACNAS is getting involved in advocacy at the national and state levels and working with industry, along with long-time government and academic partners to increase the numbers of students pursuing degrees in science and to support students along the way.
Their successes resound across the country.

Through SACNAS, Dr. Richard A. Tapia, University Professor in Rice University’s Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics, can give students who are talented in science and mathematics the kinds of encouragement that he never had. Although talented in math from a young age, Tapia says he received little encouragement to succeed in academics by his teachers and school counselors, who also didn’t tell him that he was smart enough for college.

As a young faculty member at Rice, Tapia joined with his graduate school mentor and several other Hispanic and Native American faculty members in the sciences to establish SACNAS in 1972.

“Once students go to SACNAS for the first time, they get really excited about their future. For the first time, they see a world like them, and want to be a part of it,” Tapia says.

Dr. Tina Garza, now a SACNAS board member, never thought she’d leave her hometown of El Paso. But her involvement in SACNAS led her to attend graduate school. And now, because of the influence of SACNAS, Garza holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and serves as associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso, helping a large number of people in the El Paso area pursue science degrees.

“Both the SACNAS conference and the network helped her to move on,” Camacho said. “That’s an experience that most of us have.”

Camacho’s mother supported her along every step of her educational path, telling her, “Mija, you do what you have to do, and good luck.” But she had to use her persuasive skills to let her father know that it was good for her to leave home to pursue an education.

“My parents grew up with us in terms of learning about education,” Camacho said. “They were not able to help us with homework and not able to direct us in terms of what could help us. Majoring in math was something I was exploring. In some ways, he had to trust me.”

With the community of SACNAS behind her, Camacho earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, followed by graduate coursework in public health at Johns Hopkins University.

And at this year’s SACNAS conference in Dallas, thousands of other students will follow in those footsteps, blazing a path for success in science.

The press is invited to attend any/all events. To obtain a press pass, present your press badge at the information desk near the registration area on the second floor of the Sheraton Hotel Dallas Conference Center. For more information about the annual conference or student programs, please see the SACNAS website at http://www.sacnas.org.

Named by the National Science Board as the “premier organization promoting diversity in science careers,” and winner of the 2004 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, SACNAS is a society of scientists dedicated to fostering the success of Hispanic/Chicano and Native American scientists—from college students to professionals—to attain advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership.

SACNAS – Advancing Hispanics/Chicanos & Native Americans in Science

Tel. 831-459-0170 ■ Fax 831-459-0194

P.O. Box 8526 ■ Santa Cruz ■ CA  95061-8526

info@sacnas.org ■ www.sacnas.org

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