Why make the effort to be engaged in education and outreach? The rewards are numerous and vary widely, depending on one's
career stage. Graduate students get exposed to scientists working with educators, which may inspire some of them to become
teachers themselves, a real plus for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) pipeline. They may bring their inspiration
back to their professors, and in turn influence them to become more involved in outreach. And they get exposed to activities that they
may use later in their careers to address broader impacts criteria. More senior faculty, through working in innovative ways with their
graduate students, get exposure to new ideas for communicating their research.
Working with an established program such as COSEE offers a larger impact than any one scientist can have on their own.
COSEE offers a model, a framework, and ongoing support to work over the course of a year, offering engagement in excellent
programs that have significant impact and include follow-up and evaluation, with the additional possibility of publication
and presentation opportunities.
