[Biomed_students_phd] STEM Pen-pal outreach opportunity

[Samantha Assad]

Hi Biomed students!

I have a unique opportunity for you to inspire the next generation of scientists. Letters to Pre-scientists (LPS) is currently recruiting fellow members of the STEM community to act as STEM pen-pals for the upcoming school year. They are recruiting everyone from students to established professors to industry leaders. You will be asked to write 4 letters in response to the 4 letters you receive from your pre-scientist over the course of the school year. The topics range from how you got into your current career path to your favorite hobbies. The program provides a short training to help get you set up.

A majority of the students writing to you are from low-income communities and Title 1 schools. Most of the students have never seen a scientist who looks like them. It is a great way to get involved with the future generation with very minimal time required. I have been a pen pal for the past few years, and I can say it truly is an amazing experience.

Below is the link to register to become a pen-pal! Registration closes in mid-August, so jump on the opportunity now! Become a pen-pal today!!<https://prescientist.org/volunteers/?utm_source=Letters+to+a+Pre-Scientist&utm_campaign=8048962006-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_10_17_05_22_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4577e05f11-459759126>

Link: https://prescientist.org/volunteers/?utm_source=Letters+to+a+Pre-Scientist&utm_campaign=8048962006-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_10_17_05_22_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4577e05f11-459759126


Best,
Sam
__________________________________________________________
Samantha A. Assad (she/her/hers)
PhD Student
Dr. Devin Binder Laboratory | MRB 3236
Division of Biomedical Sciences | Center for Glial-Neuronal Interactions
BMSC Graduate Student Association School of Medicine Representative &  Community Engagement Chair
University of California, Riverside School of Medicine
sassa003 at ucr.edu<mailto:sassa003 at ucr.edu> | www.binderlab.com<http://www.binderlab.com>

From: Lucy Madden <lucy.madden at prescientist.org>
Date: Friday, July 24, 2026 at 7:20 AM
To: Samantha Assad <Samantha.Assad at medsch.ucr.edu>
Subject: One of the best weeks of my life 🩵



📣 Pen pal registration for the 2026–27 school year is open!

REGISTER TO BE A STEM PEN PAL<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://us.list-manage.com/vzqyhnq51zl?e=4214728132&c2id=e54ddfd76ed5bf3764e3fa598e207322&m=HcbmO18SDbir5XF8bCh_MA4NCr5w67RjSqxMfX_vsvLm48New03wUVo2byai__;!!OLyWHuc!VvUsqnSeF4bLO_Cs2Z1Vp-cDsEeAequeK1qYbnYNxZJjD7SWUV8EUYSub6T48Fz8HyfcackLtIc9KCd_ArS9D9RvdwcpwQR3C_k$>


Hey Samantha,

Last week, for the first time in LPS history, our board and staff all gathered together in person in Baltimore, Maryland for a retreat.


The first half of the trip was for our board, the second half was for our staff, and we had one day in the middle with everyone together.


I can honestly say, it was one of the best weeks of my life. 🩵


Getting everyone there required months of planning – and then, 8 days before the retreat, our hotel emailed to say they didn’t actually have enough rooms for us.


So there I was, sitting in the passenger seat during a family road trip with my kids asleep in the back, trying to relocate an entire 5-day retreat. 🥵


Thankfully, it all worked out.


And despite the last-minute scramble, the week ended up being one of the most special work trips I’ve ever taken.


Here’s a full recap of my week (with lots of photos):


Friday


Before I left, I walked my kids to school, made sure everyone at home was situated, and prepared myself for 5 very full days away.

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/29bdafcd-c319-f799-9d3b-5f5e3d1a854e.jpeg]

By that point, I had moved the entire retreat to a new hotel, rebooked all of the food, and tried to make sure everyone knew where they were supposed to be.


I was still slightly convinced something was going to go wrong. But the hotel was ready for us, everyone made it safely, and we were officially set for the board retreat to begin Saturday morning.


A small miracle!

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/32ee8576-c25b-8ddd-bfb0-91249b4cdec2.jpeg]

Saturday


We spent Saturday with our board, talking about how we want to work together as LPS continues to grow.


One of the highlights was a session where each board member came up with their own plan for introducing more people to LPS.


I had gone into the retreat with several assumptions about what people would be interested in doing. Almost all of them were wrong. And I’m so glad they were!


People came up with ideas I never would have chosen for them, and they left genuinely energized to get started. 💪


One of our board members, Martin, made a plan to introduce us to his company to see if they’re interested in partnering with us as a sponsor. (Less than a week later, we already have a meeting on the calendar!!)

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/57474e6a-9513-18a0-8756-0b8c8e70004a.jpeg]

That night, we ate some truly excellent Indian food and played a community-building game one of our new board members, Sharon, created for us.


Throughout the day we played a game our board President, Kevin, created with Claude Code where we scored points for taking selfies, sharing stories, and finding creative ways to connect science to the things around us. It was so fun!

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/4b971be7-67e0-0882-490d-9c25c6a25075.jpeg]

And then, in the middle of the board retreat, my sister had her baby! I was only 20 minutes from the hospital, so I got to slip away before dinner and meet my brand-new niece. 💕

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/97ab2cbb-a0f0-8e16-516b-d466758263be.jpeg]

Sunday


On Sunday, our staff joined us for one day of overlap with the board.


It was also the official first day for our 3 new Program Managers: Daniela, Tanisha, and Maria. 🎉 (More on them coming soon!)


They’ll be working closely with Laura, our new Program Director, to support our students, teachers, and STEM professional pen pals throughout the school year.


Our team is remote, so it was pretty incredible that their first day happened to be one of the rare times our whole staff was together in person.


We started with lunch, where the board and staff had a chance to get to know one another.


Each person answered a question like:


When do you remember first connecting with science?

Tell us about a letter or message that arrived exactly when you needed it.

What made a connection with a pen pal special to you?

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/9cef4a46-1f45-786d-2a1d-82bee2e03e44.jpg]

This was my favorite part of the entire trip. All of my people were together in one room! It felt really special to see everyone getting to know each other.


After lunch, the board headed home and the staff portion of the retreat officially began.


We gave Daniela, Tanisha, and Maria their new laptops, created their new LPS accounts, and then headed to the National Aquarium together for some good ol’ fashioned fun.

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/b1624529-64a9-656b-af8a-54f7f26f857d.jpeg]
[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/360297ff-ba61-925d-5e54-8f6b7df36c58.jpeg]

We ended the day over dinner, tired but very happy.

Monday


Our first full staff day started with digging into thousands of responses from middle schoolers about how their ideas of STEM professionals changed through LPS.


Middle schoolers are brutally honest 😉, so there was a lot to laugh about.

One student wrote:


Before LPS, I thought STEM professionals were boring. Now I think STEM professionals are fun.


Another said:


I thought STEM professionals had to be super smart. Now I think STEM professionals have to try hard instead of being super smart.

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/dcd55a4f-6d45-bd73-406b-39649314661d.jpeg]

It was such a fun way for our new team to begin – hearing directly from the students before getting into all of the logistics of the year ahead.


We spent the rest of the day learning more about each other’s strengths, walking through the full LPS program year, and making sure everyone had a clear picture of what was coming.


That night, Daniela, Tanisha, and Maria went to dinner together so they could debrief their first full day as a team.


Laura, Daniel, and I had dinner too and talked through how everything was going so far.


By the end of Monday, everyone’s brains were very full – but in a good way.


Tuesday


Tuesday was focused on the kind of team culture we want to build together.

Because we work remotely, we talked a lot about communication, boundaries, asking for help, and what each person needs to do their best work.


We had some really honest conversations about what we want to do differently at LPS – things like not expecting people to check email at night, not assuming someone is available just because they work from home, and making sure people feel like they can bring their whole selves to work.

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/23510e42-8b44-0a24-c151-7f658fedc1d9.jpg]

Later that afternoon, it was time to record training videos for the pen pals, teachers, and students participating this year.


Daniela, Tanisha, and Maria had been on staff for about 36 hours, and suddenly they were in front of a camera.


Thankfully, they were complete troopers. 🙌


We wrapped up the retreat with one final dinner together.

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/5319470b-cdd3-15ed-b17c-57ddee7dfe3b.jpeg]

Wednesday


On Wednesday morning, Laura, Daniel, and I met over coffee to debrief the week and talk through what needed to happen next.


I also started working through the many thank you notes I wanted to send after the trip.

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/683bc552-bcc9-1922-e9ff-0273e95837ff.jpg]

We were supported throughout the retreat by Daniel Aguirre of Pueblo Collab<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://us.list-manage.com/19LIpTQcbH7?e=4214728132&c2id=e54ddfd76ed5bf3764e3fa598e207322&m=TeiqNMmnixBYd8iVDq-LQc40zRWKiuERzKTfCTZwOOZj93ANKoaH5q5M-Zfi__;!!OLyWHuc!VvUsqnSeF4bLO_Cs2Z1Vp-cDsEeAequeK1qYbnYNxZJjD7SWUV8EUYSub6T48Fz8HyfcackLtIc9KCd_ArS9D9Rvdwcp5kIMsDI$>, and I’m so grateful we had him there.


Daniel has an incredible ability to listen to a big, messy conversation and turn it into something clear and useful. He made sure everyone had space to contribute, while also helping us leave with real decisions and next steps we could begin using right away.


By the time I headed home, my heart was very full.


So were my brain and my to-do list.


Now we’re in full delegation mode as Laura takes over leadership of the program and Daniela, Tanisha, and Maria get embedded in the work.


There is still a lot to do before the new school year begins, but after spending this week together, I feel incredibly excited about the team we have in place and what we’re building together.


Talk soon,

Lucy


P.S. Want to be a STEM pen pal this year? Registration for the 2026–27 school year is officially open!<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://us.list-manage.com/t29HMgGe6Yn?e=4214728132&c2id=e54ddfd76ed5bf3764e3fa598e207322&m=E5nKoqj0AztUcpkIpC3GdGXpx5ECVpPmjpL6xGFG7P1Hvfe3q-UnGnUS9SRU__;!!OLyWHuc!VvUsqnSeF4bLO_Cs2Z1Vp-cDsEeAequeK1qYbnYNxZJjD7SWUV8EUYSub6T48Fz8HyfcackLtIc9KCd_ArS9D9Rvdwcp6J8fnHQ$>

[https://mcusercontent.com/c579455a9c1557ceef5fa6562/images/d1e50f9b-9ce8-c303-028e-5f222009e216.jpg]



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