Q: How long have you been a GSA member?
A: Eight years.
Q: Do you have a GSA resource that has been your “go-to” for keeping you engaged with the Society?
A: Hands down, the interest groups! I have met some of the most amazing individuals because of my involvement in interest groups. The interest groups are a great way to be involved in GSA without holding a volunteer leadership position. Oftentimes, it can lead you to taking on a volunteer leadership position. Also, GSA connect does a great job of keeping you updated on society wide issues and deadlines.
Q: In what ways has membership in GSA benefitted you?
A: The mentoring and networking have been the two most beneficial things I have gained by being a member of GSA. As most people know, gerontology or aging studies programs are limited. In fact, many folks who do aging work are housed in other disciplines. Being a GSA member allowed me to network with other folks doing similar or related work and it also connected me to mentors who I still work with or look to for guidance.
Q: How did you get interested in the field of aging?
A: When I was in undergrad, I took an intro to gerontology course and was hooked ever since. At the time, I had no idea that gerontology was a discipline and that you could study aging. After taking that course and subsequent courses, I knew I wanted to work with older adults and have my research/work be tailored to centering their experiences.
Q: What do you love most about your line of work?
A: What I love most about my work is that it has consistently centered the experiences and voices of those from marginalized backgrounds. As a researcher, my goal has never been to do research that will lead to the next “big thing” or developing a new framework/theory. The focus has always been or at least I strive for it to be about what the individuals/people/participants are telling us. The overall goal is to utilize what they tell us to improve care and services.
Q: What projects are you working on in your current position?
A: As a postdoctoral fellow at my institution, I am currently juggling a few things. This fall semester I will be teaching a women and aging course to first year students. I have a couple of papers under review, and I am finishing up one that is looking at the impact of attitudes towards aging on quality of life in people living with and without HIV. Lastly, I am working on a NIH grant application for a career development award that aims to explore the role of the patient-provider relationship in older adults living with chronic conditions.
Q: What was the best piece of advice you got early on in your career you’d like to pass on to emerging gerontologists?
A: This is not advice I necessarily received, but more so something I learned along the way and realized how much it benefited my career. Develop relationships with folks (i.e., colleagues, mentors, co-workers) that you can debrief with and run things by. If you are in academia, it is a very interesting place to operate in, and you will have differing experiences at each institution. It is imperative that you have a few folks that you can go to when something happens and you aren’t sure how to handle a situation.