Say yes to opportunities, Part II

A big part of roller derby is saying yes to things that scare us. Let me tell you how intimidating it can be as a jammer awaiting the start whistle to lock eyes with the opposing team’s brace while she is sizing you up and staring you down. Similarly, it can be absolutely terrifying as a blocker, bracing yourself to be slammed into by a jammer you can’t see coming but who you know is aiming lay you out on their path through the pack. And yet, someone has to do it so when it’s our turn to skate, we take a deep breath, bury our fears and get to work. 

I can think of a number of examples in my career as a scientist where saying yes to one opportunity opened the door for bigger and better things. This past winter I said yes to a similarly intimidating opportunity as agreeing to jam for the first time. I accepted an invitation to give a public presentation on the long-term consequences of stroke at the 2020 International Stroke Conference. Yes, public speaking the thing that strikes fear into the hearts of many, that leaves hearts racing, knees rattling and voices quivering, the thing that people would only rather do if the other option was a painful death or perhaps torture, the thing that for some people is torture.

For decades, the stereotypical scientist was seen as a geeky, antisocial loner who could barely clearly communicate with the rest of the world about anything much less the topic of their work. Yet, in science a key part of our professional responsibility is to disseminate the results of our studies to the general public and defend our conclusions when other scientists scrutinize the data. Scientists travel all over the world giving research talks and students, like I once was, train for many years by giving many, many presentations to hone this critical skill. While I was learning, I would begin preparing for a presentation at least a week in advance, obsess over my slides, and practice for hours, only to still find myself eternally grateful for the podium so no one could see my quaking nervous legs rattling inside my pantsuit. But, as with most things, it got better with time and experience and eventually I became a competent public speaker.

And so, even though I was a bit scared to say yes, I agreed to participate as an invited speaker in a panel discussion at the 2020 International Stroke Conference. It was the first time I have ever received such an invitation and I was intimidated to be presenting to a potentially very large audience. I was also invited to speak on a topic that was a bit outside my primary area of expertise, which left me feeling insecure and motivated to learn. I rationalized that even if it didn’t go well, at least it would be a line on my CV and a trip to sunny southern California in the middle of winter.  

After reading dozens of papers and putting in hours of work crafting my slides, presentation day finally arrived. My talk was slated for 7:15am and I arrived EARLY (I was the only one in the giant lecture hall for at least 20 minutes), running on coffee, adrenaline, and nerves in spite of the two or three hours of sleep I might have managed to get the night between before tossing and turning with worry that I would snooze through my alarm. As the moments before I was to speak drew short, I could feel the knot in my stomach tighten. After the applause for a field rockstar ended, I swallowed hard, stood up and walked up to the podium. As I loaded my slides, I looked out over the sizable audience with eyes all trained on me, took a final deep breath and began to speak.  

My presentation at the 2020 International Stroke Conference on a very niche topic I have only published about one time. Feb 2020, Los Angeles, CA (Photo credit, my mentor Dr. Jim Simpkins).

Thankfully, the presentation went well, the session was a huge success, and what I gained from saying yes to this opportunity was so much more than just a line on my CV. Little did I realize at the time, but by saying yes to this opportunity, a number of doors would open for me over the next 6 months. Indeed, this opportunity allowed me to reconnect with the moderator of the session, an accomplished neuroscientist, thoughtful mentor and all-around joy to speak with, who helped advise me through a professional challenge and leveraged her network to connect me for other opportunities.  

One of these connections was with a brilliant stroke researcher who was in the audience for my presentation, whose work is very related to my own, and who became an instant mentor who not only facilitated my experiments but also recommended me as a co-investigator on a grant proposal of one of her colleagues, sponsored my participation as a reviewer for several grant panels, and advocated for me as I made a career transition.  

Another final key connection resulting from this talk was with a successful clinician scientist who had recently moved to Tulane University in New Orleans. He had founded a new research center and was seeking faculty members to bring their research expertise to grow the group. The opportunity was promising, the timing was right and the institution in its amazing location could not have been better. When he offered me a faculty position, I jumped at the chance and moved my lab and my family to start a new chapter in our lives in the Big Easy. 

All of this was possible only because, when the opportunity came, when I was shaking in my boots skates, when I wasn’t sure I could do it, I said yes anyway.