Building Confidence Through Building Community

Dr. Leslie Ann CaromileI stood there alone, wearing the beaded bracelet my mother had made and the silver Orca necklace my brother had given me. I was the only Native American student to graduate from the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine in 2009 with a PhD in pathology. Instead of sitting in on the commencement ceremony, I decided to attend Raven’s Feast, an annual event that celebrates the graduation of Native American students from UW. This intimate gathering includes family and friends of the graduate, and also community elders, mentors, as well as university faculty and staff. I stood there alone, holding an original print titled Winged Messenger, gifted to me by local artist and UW faculty member Dr. Marvin Oliver. Yes, I stood there alone as the singular Native American pathology graduate—but with a room full of family and friends, I did not feel alone. I was proud of my achievements and confident in my abilities as a scientist; however, it wasn’t always this way.

Pursuing a Passion

I have been passionate about science for as long as I can remember. I spent my childhood at natural history museums and science fairs, on camping trips and nature hikes, in vegetable gardens and green houses, and with telescopes and microscopes. Realizing that I was usually one of the only Native American students in my classes or on trips, my family encouraged me along the way—all the while making sure I kept my culture foremost in my thoughts by comparing and contrasting what I learned in school and from books with traditional knowledge and stories about the natural world, and by attending local Native events such as schemitzun and powwows. With family support, I received my BS in physiology and neurobiology from the University of Connecticut and my MS in molecular biology from California State University, Los Angeles.

In 2004, I decided to enroll in the PhD program in pathology at UW. I knew that pathology was a nontraditional path for a Native student, but in a field whose main goal is to improve disease recognition, understand disease causation and pathogenesis, and to identify new treatments and preventions, I felt I could make a positive impact on the health outcomes of our communities. My hope was that this decision would enable me to achieve my overall career goal of becoming an independent researcher within an academic setting. There has been a long history of underrepresentation of Native people within the sciences and especially within biomedical PhD programs. I had experienced this firsthand, and I felt we needed a voice. So as a successful graduate from UW, a scientist, and a mentor, I planned to use my own successes to help other Native American and other underrepresented students enter the biomedical sciences. I wanted to promote the reality that science is made richer by differences in gender, race, ethnicity, and culture among scientists.

Graduate School Survival 101

I was excited and confident about starting this new phase of my life. But when I arrived in Seattle, it seemed very foreign and I knew no one. I started to second-guess my decision and my abilities to achieve my goals. If I didn’t know anyone, how could I possibly make an impact? In addition, I was entering a PhD program in pathology. I fully expected to be the only Native American in the program, and I was—in previous situations, however, I always had the love and support of my family. Now they were thousands of miles away, and I worried that the local Native community wouldn’t be so accepting of my career choice. Soon after enrolling, I had an experience that enabled me to find the kind of community support I had hoped to find. As part of my admission into the UW, I received a fellowship from Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP). Part of the UW Graduate School, GO-MAP is committed to serving the needs of minority students while simultaneously fostering a supportive educational and social environment in which students can learn and develop. Most larger universities have similar programs, and they can be a lifesaver for a new graduate student.  

Getting Connected, Building Confidence

The central experience that turned things around for me was a GO-MAP event called Getting Connected. This annual event provides an opportunity for new minority graduate students to meet other new students, returning minority graduate students, and faculty and staff—and to get information on resources about how to survive in graduate school. At this event I met many other Native graduate students enrolled at UW who were, to my surprise, feeling many of the same emotions I was. I really connected with several people I met that evening and in the ensuing years, we forged strong friendships that we still maintain today. I was also happy to learn that many of them, like me, possessed a genuine interest in Native American issues and education. Together we served in a number of leadership positions in UW student organizations, national organizations, and student government. We participated in UW-supported outreach programs to local tribal communities. For several years, we led a student group—Native American Students in Advanced Academia—whose main focus was an annual international symposium that showcased graduate Native research. I am indebted to my friends and GO-MAP because without their support, I might not have the successes and confidence that I have now.

As for my worries about being accepted by the local Native community for my nontraditional career choice—I couldn’t have been more wrong. They supported both my love of science and my overall goals. And most importantly, once I explained that the key role of the pathologist is disease recognition and diagnosis, they respected me as a Native researcher. In fact, aside from my family, they cheered the loudest for me at Raven’s Feast. So although I stood alone at Raven’s Feast, I was never alone. I had a huge support network around me: I just needed to recognize it.

Author

Dr. Leslie Ann Caromile (Eastern Cherokee) graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 2009 with a PhD in pathology. From 2009 to 2011, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health and is currently completing a second postdoc at the University of Connecticut Health Center in the Center for Vascular Biology. She can be reached at LCaromile@gmail.com.

Related Resources

View full edition of the Summer/Fall 2011 SACNAS News