By Haritha Lakshmanan
The Tow Mentoring and Research Program’s spring 2023 cohort kicked off the start of the program on Thursday, Feb. 2. The program is a recent addition to Brooklyn College’s efforts to support academic research of all disciplines through the Tow Mentoring Initiative.
With 21 faculty and student pairs present, the event featured an introduction to the program, a welcome address by President Michelle Anderson, and cohort discussions. The program places a strong emphasis on student researchers from various disciplines interacting with each other to create memorable experiences. This collection of opportunities was funded by the Tow Foundation to establish a two-year pilot initiative to deepen mentorship culture across campus. Those in attendance on Feb. 2 heard about the upbringing of Leonard Tow, a BC alum and co-founder of the Tow Foundation.
“Students and faculty were touched to hear Leonard Tow’s origin story, and to learn how being raised by two Russian immigrants in the middle of the great depression inspired Mr. Tow’s future philanthropy and his mission to serve vulnerable populations,” explained Zachary Paganini, associate director of the Tow Mentoring Initiative and Ph.D. candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
For the students who form part of the program, seeing others from different disciplines has been beneficial and exciting to experience.
“I’m excited to interact with everyone in the program! It seems like there will be a lot of support going forward,” remarked Olga Katrych, a current student in the spring 2023 cohort, whose research focuses on the cognitive processes in bilingual speakers.
Another student in the program, Kobi Kobi, found the kick-off event helpful for mentors and mentees to get to know each other and set goals for the semester. Kobi plans to conduct research to study the mechanism behind sex steroid-induced changes in a specific species of fish.
At the event, Dr. Tammy Lewis, faculty director of the Tow Mentoring Initiative and professor of sociology and urban sustainability at Brooklyn College, explained that the program is meant to be a springboard for future opportunities. Students from last semester’s cohort have gone on to participate in prestigious programs, presented at international conferences, and accomplished so much more. The program’s first semester in operation took place last fall, featuring 19 faculty and student pairs.
“Going into the program, I was intimidated by the idea of pursuing a project in a field that I didn’t have in-depth knowledge of. However, my mentor and peers were extremely supportive as I navigated the entire process,” said Nidhi Mahadevan, The Vanguard’s social media manager and a participant in the fall 2022 cohort whose research was in the field of anthropology.
Outside of the research that the Tow Mentoring Initiative supports, the program also provides students with additional workshops on applying for graduate schools and awards, coaching on professional presentations, and small group meetings. No matter a selected student’s intended major, even if it’s not related to the sciences or math, the program supports them through it all.
“There seems to be this stigma around the fact that only STEM majors can research. So, I was very excited to see projects from non-STEM disciplines,” said Nitu Farhin, The Vanguard’s cartoonist and a participant in the program’s fall 2022 cohort who researched in understanding roles of specific genes in breast cancer. “Although the research processes are different for different disciplines of research, they are all equally important topics.”
A current student in the spring 2023 cohort, Sadia Siddiqui, plans to create a documentary film about one of the founders of the Brooklyn New School, a school founded by parents and teachers as an “alternative to traditional education” according to InsideSchools. Siddiqui looks forward to learning more about teaching as an art through this program.
“I also enjoyed spending time with my cohort and hope to learn from the similar and different interests that we share,” said Siddiqui.
On Friday, May 12, the program will have Mentoring and Research Student Conference Presentations that will feature works from the students in the spring cohort. The Tow Mentoring Initiative hopes that students of all disciplines will take time out of their schedules and stop by.
Another part of the Tow Mentoring Initiative includes the Tow Mentor-in-Residence. This semester’s mentor-in-residence is JP Howard, a poet, educator, judge, literary activist, and curator. The 2023 Mentor-in-Resident Keynote Address with JP Howard will take place at the Don Buchwald Theater in the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for Performing Arts on Feb. 22 at 1 PM.