"As I frantically tried to figure out a solution, I began to run into a lack of cultural proficiency about my situation. I had to repeatedly explain to administrators and PIs that I could not just “take a break” from school until funding was restored because my ability to stay in the country was contingent on being a registered student. I also had to explain that returning to India would be problematic because of the discrimination against LGBT people that is common there. I felt crushed. It was incredibly tough to have made it into a competitive graduate program only to be sideswiped by a problem that neither I nor any of my advisers had foreseen. Realizing that the life I had so painstakingly built in my new home could easily be snatched away from me overwhelmed me with anxiety about my future. I felt very isolated, and questioned whether there was room in scientific research for people like me...
I got involved with Hutch United, a grassroots diversity organization founded by a group of graduate students and postdocs in 2013. Discussions with other students from underrepresented backgrounds at my own institution reinforced at a personal level what I had already found in my reading about the issue: Funding uncertainty had discouraged many of them from pursuing careers in science, too. For some, the personal financial uncertainty that can come with an academic science career was a powerful deterrent because they were responsible for supporting members of their extended families...
Getting the fellowship started wasn’t easy, but it has been very gratifying to see firsthand how grassroots organizing can prompt institutional change. I also learned a tremendous amount. For others who are interested in taking on similar projects, here are some of the lessons I learned that can help lead to success."
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