Un Neurocientífico: Mis errores, Mi aventura, Mi vida: the First WHS PIzza Talk in Spanish

Introduction<br>Short talks by scientists about their personal journeys into science help young people consider ways they could become a scientist themselves. The NSF-funded Brandeis University Materials Research Science Engineering Center (MRSEC) has an ongoing partnership with Waltham Public Schools to help increase awareness of science research happening at Brandeis and to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM. 41.9% of students at Waltham High School are Hispanic or Latino, and many speak Spanish as their first language. One successful outreach initiative developed through this partnership is the “Science Pizza Talk Series.” The talks in that series are given by scientists at Waltham High School (WHS) about their personal journeys into science and are intended to inspire students to study science. While the talks are widely attended by diverse English-speaking audiences, they remain inaccessible to the population of Spanish-speaking English Language Learners. To help connect with those students, a previous speaker in this series, Raul Ramos, was asked to deliver his Science Pizza Talk in Spanish. The Brandeis MRSEC is devoted to increasing diversity and supports efforts to reach Spanish-speaking students who could become interested in science. <br><br>Methods<br>This series has been described previously in the SciLinkReport, “How and Why I Became a Biologist: WHS Science Pizza Talks.” In brief, a biology high school teacher coordinates with a Brandeis staff person to advertise the talk to students. Pizzas are provided by the Brandeis team. The speaker, Raul Ramos, is a Chicano, born and raised on the US-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas. He overcame several juvenile arrests, expulsion, and minimal science education to become a neuroscience Ph.D. candidate at one of the top neuroscience programs in the country. He discusses this personal journey and his research regarding the neurobiology of learning and memory. <br><br>Results<br>The talk was attended by ~100 students, teachers and WHS principal. It was filmed and later posted to YouTube: https://youtu.be/AOHS2etYJJ4. While short assessments are usually done after talks in this series, they were not done for this talk because the form was prepared in English. However, when the talk was done, multiple teachers sent emails asking if Brandeis could offer more Spanish Science Pizza Talks in the future. Students have also reached out to Raul by email to ask for more information and advice about science careers. <br><br>Discussion<br>This talk was well received by all involved, and so some of the future Science Pizza Talks will be delivered in Spanish. The translated form will be used to collect student feedback about the talks. <br><br>