We are thrilled to announce that we are now recruiting our Spring 2024 geoSTORIES cohort! The deadline to sign up is January 12, 2024, but don't wait to secure your place in the new geoSTORIES cohort. We cap our enrollment at 40 participants to ensure that all cohort members can receive personalized attention, so be sure to sign up as soon as possible. Click here to submit your application today and click the link below to pay the registration fee.

What is geoSTORIES?

The geoSTORIES Initiative is a 15-week intensive program for Earth and environmental science undergrads, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars who want to 1) develop supportive and authentic community by harnessing the power of story, 2) problem-solve challenges to equity and belonging in the natural sciences (even if those challenges are just retaining yourself!), and 3) receive personalized one-on-one coaching on finding success in their career goals. 

Who can participate in geoSTORIES?

geoSTORIES is designed for Earth and environmental science undergrads, graduate students, and postdocs who hail from communities that are actively harmed by the hegemonic culture of the geosciences. It’s no secret that the natural sciences have been dominated by white, cisgender, heterosexual, abled men for literal centuries. That’s why geoSTORIES is intended as a counterspace intentionally designed to center and empower those who too often find themselves on the margins. While geoSTORIES is open to all comers, we especially would like to invite people who identify as members of a marginalized community to apply to geoSTORIES, particularly those who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Pacific Islander, or other Persons of Color; women (cis or trans); members of the LGBTQIA+; people with disabilities, visible or invisible; neurodivergent folks; and others .  

I hardly have time to eat my microwave ramen! How will I find time for a program like this? 

Paradoxically, pressing pause and taking the time to authentically connect with other humans actually increases your capacity to deal with that never-ending task list. Additionally, learning tips, tricks, hacks, and strategies from geoSTORIES speakers, facilitators, and other geoSTORIES participants will cut down on the time those tasks take.  

geoSTORIES sounds great, but I’m on a shoestring budget. (Didn’t you see the part about microwave ramen?) How much does it cost and how can I pay for it? 

Enrollment in the geoSTORIES program costs $500. That may seem like a lot, and we get it—that’s why we will supply you with a strategy for soliciting funding from your advisor, department, graduate school, or program, including a template for requesting sponsorship. Just let us know that you want support for finding funding when you fill out the application and we'll provide you with that information.

If the geoSTORIES Initiative is that great, why isn't it free for everyone? 

Too often, scientists with marginalized identities are not compensated for the efforts they put into service, leading to decreased career satisfaction and high rates of burnout. Through geoSTORIES, we aim to provide you with the highest quality services, and that means compensating our speakers and facilitators so that they can continue bringing their best to you. In this program, we provide you with the following: 

• Weekly 90-minute virtual community gatherings led and organized by a certified community storytelling facilitator plus a 3 hour Saturday retreat with delivery meal provided

• Opportunities to meet and learn from established scientists who share identities and experiences with you

• Bystander intervention and self-efficacy workshops with a team of actors trained in theatre of the oppressed

• Personalized, one-on-one coaching sessions to empower you in your academic and DEIBA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Accessibility) pursuits

• A moderated Discord server for staying connected, sharing resources, and collaborating with other cohort members

• Support for developing and implementing DEIBA initiatives in your own departments, universities, and organizations

We’re not just interested in getting you to graduation or your first permanent job—we’re committed to providing you with the confidence, connections, skills, and whole-hearted community that will serve as the foundation for not just surviving but thriving in the geosciences. 

Here’s where the rock hammer meets the outcrop. 

If you...

1. … are searching for authentic relationships with other geoscientists who break the mold,

2. … dream of belonging in a community that supports your growth as a scientist and as a champion of diverse communities, and/or 

3. … want to be part of the simultaneously radical and practical imagining of an inclusive, equitable, and just future for the Earth and environmental sciences, 

then consider joining us! Ultimately, we want to collaborate with you to create a revolution of belongingness in the Earth sciences, and we hope you will join us in this journey through the geoSTORIES initiative. Submit your application to join the Spring 2024 geoSTORIES cohort today.