The 2024 Out In STEM Conference: Be Gay, Do Science
From October 17-20, the Oregon Convention Center overflowed with STEM nerds in all colors of the rainbow. Featuring poster presentations, a career and graduate school expo, and workshops on everything from job hunting while queer, to research on trans healthcare, the conference was an opportunity for queer people in STEM to network and build community.
Out in Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering, commonly abbreviated to oSTEM, is a non-profit organization with the goal of “empower[ing] LGBTQ+ people in STEM to succeed personally, academically, and professionally,” as stated on their website. oSTEM is a chapter-based organization, featuring both collegiate chapters at universities and professional chapters in cities. With 150+ chapters in the US and beyond, oSTEM is the largest chapter-based organization focused on queer people in STEM.
This year, 13 members of Reed’s oSTEM chapter attended the 2024 oSTEM conference. We were funded by oSTEM’s club budget and by the Mission Grant from the Office of Institutional Diversity.
“This was my first time [attending oSTEM], so every program and event I went to was new and unique in kind of its own way,” oSTEM member Allison Jefferis ‘25 said. “I’m applying to grad school, and oSTEM provided many great first steps in all of the application processes, as well as giving me a lot of resources [about] internships and fellowships.”
“oSTEM has really mapped out what the private sector world looks like for me,” said Alister Orozco ‘25, president of Reed’s oSTEM chapter. “At Reed, they focus really hard on the PhD to academia track, and I never learned about other opportunities that were available to scientists. It was really cool to hear about people working in biotech. I did a lot of really solid networking with people that I hope to keep in touch with, with similar research interests to me.”
The conference was altogether a successful and rewarding experience for participants. A survey was sent to Reed oSTEM attendees by the Office for Institutional Diversity pre- and post-conference to assess the impact of the experience; agreement with “I feel connected to other LGBTQ+ people in my STEM field” increased from 75% “neutral” responses to 100% “agrees” and “strongly agrees.” “I know of LGBTQ+ professionals in my field who I could contact for mentorship” and “I feel comfortable networking with professionals, recruiters, and potential mentors” increased from 75% “disagrees” to 100% “agrees.”
An anonymous responder to the survey wrote, “I've sort of assumed that the level of comfort that I have being out / open with my identity at Reed would have to end after my time here. Being able to connect with queer scientists [at the conference] has given me a better sense of how I can find community in STEM outside of Reed.”
“It was resource upon resource that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise,” Jefferis said. “It was also important to me to see other queer people in STEM, especially in the corporate world, because that’s not something I’ve had any experience at all with.”
Orozco said, “My favorite part [of the conference] was seeing all the Reedies go to oSTEM, because last year we struggled with getting people to go because it was so far away. This year, it was lovely to see so many people attend.”
Beyond the conference, oSTEM provides many resources for queer people in STEM, including scholarships, assistance with graduate school applications, and more.
“A word of caution: Reed is very queer and that’s really beautiful, [but] brace yourself for other locations,” Orozco said. “I felt a lot of whiplash when I went elsewhere, and that’s hard. If you do experience that, that’s what oSTEM’s here for.”
If you’re interested in learning more about oSTEM at Reed, check out the club Instagram @reed.ostem, and feel free to email ostem@reed.edu with any questions. To be added to
oSTEM’s mailing list, scan this QR code for the signup form:
