Belongingness Interns Recognizing Diversity

BIRD goals

01

Vision

We envision an academic atmosphere that is responsive, relevant, and accountable to the diverse needs, perspectives, and voices of all students by cultivating inclusive and equitable opportunities

We strive to support student-focused and student-driven projects in the Biology department, centered around marginalized voices in STEM.

Mission

03

We encourage students from historically excluded backgrounds and marginalized groups (including but not limited to: students of color, LGBTQ+, first generation to college, lower income students, and students with disabilities) to apply. 

Making a change

02

The Belongingness Intern Recognizing Diversity (BIRD) fellowship is an opportunity for Reed College students within the Biology department to engage in a paid fellowship centered around student belongingness.

How it 
all started

The BIRD fellowship was established in Spring of 2020 by Tamara Layden (Fey Lab) and Erin Howell (Cerveny Lab), two post-bacc staff members in the Biology Department at Reed College and Aziz Ouedraogo, a biochemistry & molecular biology major at Reed College. Tamara and Erin applied for and were awarded funding through the Office of Institutional Diversity’s Social Justice Research and Education Fund, which supported the BIRD intern, Aziz, for the duration of Summer and Fall of 2020. Aziz, Erin, and Tamara all contributed to internship ideas and foundation.

Establishing this fellowship was in direct response to two proximate events (1) COVID-19 pandemic, which halted many on-campus student positions, (2) ongoing protests in Portland, Oregon, which galvanized discussions and actions around Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI), locally. The central foundational goals of this project, in response to the above, were to (1) provide a flexible (remote) work opportunity for students, particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized groups (students of color, LGBTQ+ students, first generation to college students, lower income students, and students with disabilities), and (2) dedicate funding and personnel to looking inward at JEDI within the Biology Department.