Info for Speakers 

We invite two accomplished mathematicians who are active leaders in supporting and advocating for marginalized mathematicians to give an inspiring 50 minute talk that ties together the conference themes of: career advancement, experiences of marginalized mathematicians, representation, and conference participants forming an allied community.

Note: please take care not to prepare a talk that fits the descriptions of "Our Stories" or "Crash Courses"

We invite eight research mathematicians with experience advising undergraduates in their field to give a 50 minute talk on their expertise.

The goal of these talks is to inspire curiosity and give students exposure to various areas of math, to help them decide which ones they want to investigate further or apply to programs in. We hope students who attend crash courses gain some insights about what different areas of math are like, so that when they apply to REUs, internships, and other programs, they know they’re applying to things in areas they have some interest in. We hope they come away from these talks with enough information to know whether they want to investigate the topic further, and some ideas for how to do so. 

The best crash course talks often involve a mix of less-technical, bird’s-eye-view material, and some more technical and specific material. The less technical material might broadly touch on the general ideas, processes, and tools involved in the field, as well as why the field matters and how it sits in the world of mathematics, relative to other areas. The more technical material might include examples of specific problems that are accessible to undergraduates, like those previous undergraduates have worked on, or open problems undergraduates might be able to make progress on. 

We invite four mathematicians who have experience teaching faculty how to support and advocate for students of marginalized identities to facilitate a 50 minute workshop on allyship. Each workshop will focus on experiences unique to people who share a specified identity, such as race, gender, or disability.

We hope faculty will leave with new tools and perspective to bring to their classrooms and mentorship relationships.

We invite twelve mathematicians with diverse identities and backgrounds to speak for 20 minutes about their significant experiences in mathematics, including candid, emotional struggles and victories that shaped their math career, especially experiences from their time as undergraduates which participants can use to inform their choices.

Our goal is to show participants many varied paths that mathematicians take from undergrad (or earlier) to their current career stages. Student attendees often gain both inspiration and concrete ideas for what kinds of programs and opportunities they would like to seek out to help them along the way. For many attendees, this is also an opportunity to see for the first time a mathematician who shares certain identities with them, which often instills a sense of belonging. 

Speakers are encouraged to prepare slides with images of meaningful experiences and describe the personal values and ethics that guide how they choose to spend their time and energy as professional mathematicians.

 We invite five people involved in REU's, internships, study-abroad programs, summer camp counselorships, and graduate schools to help students understand how they can benefit from engaging with these opportunities. Students will also learn how to find and apply for these programs through a Q&A format. Panelists will be asked questions such as:

• What does your program offer and what is expected of students?

• What eligibility requirements are there and are exceptions ever made? (ex. citizenship, age, enrollment, major, pre-req courses, location) 

• Describe mentorship relationships during and after the program.

• What is commonly the most difficult part of your program for students, how do you support them in that experience, and how would you recommend students prepare for it?

• What do you think is the most common misconception about your type of program and what is the truth on that matter?

• How does your program work to be inclusive to people from marginalized backgrounds?

• What do participants commonly go on to do and what support and connections do they retain?

• How can students be best prepared to apply?

The duration of the panel is 90 minutes.

We invite six current and recent undergraduate students to speak about their experiences with career-building programs such as REUs, math study abroad programs, math camp counselorships, internships, research projects with faculty at one’s own school, community building, and outreach. The panel will have a Q&A format.

Speakers may be asked questions such as:

• How have your experiences engaging with math programs/organizations impacted your career and personal life, both positively and negatively?

• What was the social environment of the programs/organizations you engaged with? How did you deal with moments of self-doubt or imposter syndrome in your programs/organizations? Did you feel supported by those around you and if so, how was that achieved?

• What did you gain from your experiences? (ex. presentation confidence, paper structuring, collaboration, communication, mentorship, friendship)

• How have the programs you participated in supported you after completion?

• What were the most useful resources you had in preparing your applications? 

The duration of the panel is 90 minutes.