This month current GFP (Global Field Program) student Aurelia Valente of Sante Fe, New Mexico, presented "Disability Inclusion in STEM Academia" at RedHawk Talks, a TED-like talk hosted by Miami's Graduate School. Valente's talk focused on how being a disabled graduate biology student has shaped her research. "Just because I have these disabilities, it shouldn't prevent me from pursuing the things that I'm passionate about. ... We have a little bit of an inclusion problem in STEM. Even in biology, it can be really hard to keep diverse researchers around, which is very strange to me considering that the word biodiversity has the word diversity in the name. I mean, especially in biology, some of the research advancements we have wouldn't have existed without inclusion." Watch here

As a student in Miami's biology department, Valente is earning a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Biology through Project Dragonfly's GFP while working as a biology educator at Santa Fe High School.