I  start  off  with  genetics  in  the  morning, and  then  I  have  chemical  biology. And  then  after  this  podcast, I'll  go  to  biochemistry. Okay,  that's  a  very  full  day. Yea,  welcome  to  be on  the  Nest  University  of  Minnesota  Rochester's Alumni  Podcast  Y  Marco  Lance, UMR,  Director  of  Alumni  Development  Relationships. In  today's  episode,  UMR  Chancellor  Lori  Carroll and  Rochester  Student  Association President  Patricia  Hernandez, sit  down  for  a  chat  about Patricia's  journey  through  UMR  and the  various  experiences  which  have  led  her  to a  role  in  campus  student  leadership. Currently,  Patricia  is  in  her  third  year  at  UMR. However,  she  plans  to  graduate this  coming  spring  with  aspirations  to pursue  post  back  research  opportunities before  heading  into  a  graduate  program. So  we  know  it's  rigorous  at  UMR, I'm  wondering  what  attracted you  to  this  campus  in  the  first  place. I  kind  of  like  the  small  college  feel. I  like  being  able  to  talk  to my  professors  without  being  afraid. I  feel  like  I  like  small  classes. I  ask  a  lot  of  questions  in  class, which  I  don't  think  I  can  do  in a  lecture  hall  full  of  like  300  students. I  like  that  I  can  just  walk  to  my  classes. It's  all  very  walkable  in  the  same  distance. And  I  don't  know,  I also  like  the  fact  that  it  is  health  centered, but  there's  still  so  many  different  health  care  pathways that  come  with  this  university. Well,  we're  very  fortunate  at UMR  that  you  were  attracted  to  this. I'm  so  glad  that  you're  a  student. Of  course,  things  didn't  go as  planned  over  these  last  few  years, and  there  were  many  challenges  to  our  students. And  I'm  sure  that  was  true  for  you  too. Mm  hm.  Yeah,  I  guess  I  can speak  on  the  experience of  being  a  freshman  in  the  pandemic. It  was  very  interesting, coming  into  college  right  out  of high  school  and  having  everything, being  online,  having  Zoom  lectures. It  definitely  wasn't  the  conventional  college  experience. But  I  think  now  being  a  junior, technically  a  senior,  since  I'm  graduating  this  year. I  think  it  just  makes  me  more  open  to  being  more involved  and  getting  active  and  talking  to  everyone. All  the  students,  all  the  professors. We're  definitely  treasuring  time  together  differently, aren't  we?  Yes,  exactly. I  want  to  make  the  most  out  of  this  last  year,  of  course. So  I  want  to  do  everything. I  know  it's  impossible  to  do  everything, but  I  want  to  fill  in  as  much  as  I  can. Well,  along  the  way  you discovered  that  there's  a  leader  in  you. Tell  me  about  that  journey. Yeah,  I  really  did  not  think  of myself  as  a  leader  in  high  school. I  wasn't  in  student  council, I  didn't  have  leadership  positions. But  I  guess  with  the  pandemic, I  just  realized  that  all  it  takes  in  a  leader,  I  feel, is  having  the  courage  to  raise  your  hand in  a  classroom  or  speaking  on  behalf of  other  people  who  have the  same  question  as  you  but  are  too  afraid  to. I  just  got  uncomfortable  with  silence. I  hated  silence  in  the  zoom  classroom. When  a  professor  would  ask  a  question, I  would  be  like,  oh,  I'm  going  to  answer  the  question. I  just  can't  take  silence. I  think  just  the  isolation  of  the  pandemic really  pushed  me  to  be  more outgoing  in  terms  of  being a  leader  and  talking  to  more  people. I  think  really  suffered  in  terms of  socializing  during  the  pandemic, which  pushed  me  out  of my  comfort  zone  and  talk  to  more  people  that I  maybe  wouldn't  have  if  I didn't  live  through  this  crisis. Well,  certainly  voice  is a  part  of  leadership  and  you  have  developed that  this  year  Give  to  the  max  Day. A  Minnesota  tradition  supporting  nonprofits  and institutions  of  higher  learning  is on  Thursday,  November  17. And  at  UMR,  we  are  highlighting the  Raptor  Student  Research  Fund  as a  health  sciences  focus  campus  student  research and  opportunities  to present  that  work  is  vital  to academic  success  in  future  career  opportunities. The  Raptor  Student  Research  Fund  supports UMR  undergraduates  ability  to  attend research  conferences  by  covering  registration  fees, transportation,  lodging  and associated  costs  related  to  participation. To  support  the  Raptor  Student  Research  Fund, please  visit  crowdfunding  and search  for  the  University  of  Minnesota,  Rochester. Now,  you  developed your  leadership  orientation  and  skills, and  all  of  it,  during the  pandemic  while  you  were  a  college  student. So  what  were  some  of  the  experiences that  you  had  that  helped  you move  toward  this  leadership  role  as  the  RSA  president? Well,  I  will  say  that  with the  pandemic  in  my  freshman  year, fall  of  my  freshman  year,  I  barely  left  my  dorm. I  did  not  know  of  any  club  activities  that  were  going  on. And  then  come  sophomore  year, I  just  wanted  to  do  everything. I  went  to  BSU  meetings,  Monk  Club  meetings, I  got  involved  with  RSA  even  though  I didn't  have  any  student  government  experience. I  think  because  of  the  pandemic  clubs were  starting  to  die  down. And  it  was  easier actually  to  put  my  foot  in  the  door  and  say, hey,  can  I  be  this  position or  can  I  be  your  Secretary  Treasurer? And  then  just  get  thrown  into  it  without  any  experience. And  honestly  like  being a  secretary  treasurer  has  been  amazing. I  think  like  in  terms  of  being  a  leader, all  of  my  friends  are  in  these  clubs  and  organizations. It  doesn't  feel  so  sterile. It  feels  natural  to  participate  in  so  many  things. I  guess  also  becoming an  undergraduate  academic  assistant  has really  helped  In  terms  of  building  leadership  skills. I  feel  like  it's  easy  for  me to  communicate  with  both  students  that  are like  years  below  me  and  also  faculty being  able  to  talk  to  them  in  a  comfortable  environment. All  of  that  has  led  to  where  I  am  today.  I  think. Well,  I  had  the  opportunity  last  week  to  observe you  in  the  RSA  meeting  and  observe  your  leadership. I  saw  you  organizing. I  saw  you  including  multiple  voices. I  saw  you  laying  paths  forward, leading  people  in  conversation  toward a  collective  decision  and  preparing  to  implement. All  of  those  are  leadership  skills and  I  think  you've  got  it  going  on. Well,  I'm  glad  that  I  display  that. I  never  really  think  about  myself  from  that  way, so  I'm  glad  it  comes  off  like that  to  you  and  maybe  to  others. Yeah.  Yeah.  In  terms  of  RSA  meetings, me  as  a  president,  I  want  it  to  be  more  discussion  based. In  terms  of  meetings, I  don't  want  to  present  something and  have  people  listen  like  it's  a  lecture. I  really  do  want  student  feedback. I  know  in  RSA, I  want  our  message to  be  for  the  students  and  by  the  students. And  I  don't  want  it  to  just  be a  name  like  I  actually  want  to  ask, what  do  students  want? What  do  students  want  to  eat  for  food,  for  finals? What  do  they  want  out  of?  Just  ask what  concerns  do  they  have. I  want  to  know  all  of  it. And  I  rely  on, for  example,  my  freshman  first  year  reps, They  were  so  excited  to  campaign  for RSA  elections  and  that was  something  that  was  definitely  new. Nobody  was  excited  for  it last  year  when  the  pandemic  was  still  pretty  strong. I  want  to  call  on  them  and  nag  on  them  a  little  bit. Ask  what  does  the  freshman  cohort  want  for  the  school? Because  it  really  does  matter  what  they  want. The  learning  during  the  pandemic is  impacting  decisions  we're  making. And  our  perspective  of  campus, of  the  world,  of  each  other. There  is  much  that  is  positive  in  there, even  though  there  was  challenge. Um,  R  would  like  to  hear  from  you. Please  visit  this  episode. Show  noes  for  how  to  connect  and  share  your  UMR  journey. Now  back  to  Chancellor  Carroll  and RSA  President  Patricia  Hernandez. As  they  talk  about  Patricia's  experience  as an  undergraduate  academic  advisor and  her  passion  for  teaching, I  wonder  as  you  look  ahead  to  what's  next, since  you're  graduating  in three  years  and  graduating  very,  very  soon, how  the  leadership  that  you've  been  engaged  in  here, as  well  as  the  struggles  of the  pandemic  will  affect you  going  forward,  and  nobody  knows. But  what  are  you  thinking  may  happen  next  for  you? Well,  right  after  graduation, I  want  to  take  a  gap  year  to  get more  research  experience  and hopefully  get  into  graduate  school. But  I  think  in  terms  of  experiences  here  at  Omar, I  think  there's  many  valuable  experiences. Number  one,  becoming  the  UAA  in  chemistry  courses. It  was  amazing  to  have  that  student  relationship. And  being  able  to  teach  students  and  break down  complex  concepts  that  they  get  in  their  heads  about. I  found  that  really  rewarding. And  I  don't  know  if  I  would  have  become  a  UA, A.  I  don't  know. I  just  did  it  on  a  limb.  And  now  here  I  am. My  whole  career  trajectory  has  changed. But  definitely,  I'm  a  UAA. This  semester,  I  will  be  one  next  semester. Teaching  is  what  I  want  to  do, and  I  love  teaching  science, I  love  teaching  health  science. Also  being  an  owl, the  orientation.  Welcome  league  leader. I  think  that  was  definitely  also  an  experience that  has  led  me  to  becoming  a  leader. I  think  it  takes  guts  to  stand  in  front  of students  that  may  not  want  to  listen  to  you,  especially. That  also  happens  as  a  AA, but  it  takes  us  to  talk  in  front  of  people  that you  don't  have  a  connection  with and  try  and  build  that  connection. And  I  think  that  has  paid  off. I  mean,  in  the  hallways  I  can look  freshman  into  the  eye  and  they  smile  at me  and  I  don't  know  if  that  would happen  if  I  wasn't  a  leader  on  campus. Well,  what  I  heard  in  there  is  that  you  love  teaching. And  I'm  wondering  if  talking  to  a  future  UMR  professor, honestly,  I  would  be  happy  to  come  back. One  of  the  things  that  I  like  about  being a  UAA  is  being  able  to  talk  to  students and  teaching  at  smaller  colleges  would  let me  have  that  close  student  professor  relationship. So  I  like  you  and  I  like  just  ask.  I  love  teaching. Office  hours  are  great,  so  baby. Perhaps  in  the  future  we  shall  see. Well,  we  love  having  you here  and  having  you  in  this  leadership  role. I  don't  envy  your  schedule  today and  the  courses  that  you  are  journeying  through. But  I  admire  and  respect  what  you're doing  and  look  to  you  as  the  voice  of  our  students. So  thank  you  for  your  work. Yeah,  thank  you  for  having  me. Thank  you  to  Chancellor  Carroll  and Jars  President  Patricia  Hernandez for  their  insightful  discussion  on leadership  in  the  UMR  experience. And  thank  you  for  listening  to  another  episode of  Beyond  the  Nest,  Umar's  alumni  podcast. Beyond  the  Nest  is  produced  by  UMR  Alumni  Relations  and edited  by  Marshall  Saunders  with  Minnesota  Podcasting. We'll  be  back  next  month  for  the  final  episode  of  season three  featuring  2019  graduate  Bradley  Raker, chatting  with  UMR  student  success  coach  Anna  Riba  Cooskis until  then  Tootoo.