- Our program mostly focuses on STEM students but we also meet with students from other majors. And the DOE Scholars Program, it's one of those programs that I often share, like, "Hey, I did it. I'm not, my background is not in STEM, but I had an amazing time." So I always encourage them to check out that program and apply if they're eligible. - [Announcer] This is the ORISE Featurecast. Join host Michael Holtz for conversations with ORISE experts on STEM workforce development, scientific and technical reviews and the evaluation of radiation exposure and environmental contamination. You'll also hear from ORISE research program participants and their mentors as they talk about their experiences and how they are helping shape the future of science. Welcome to the ORISE Featurecast. - Welcome once again to the ORISE Featurecast. As ever, I am your host Michael Holtz in the communications and marketing department at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. And I'm really excited today to talk to Cristina Cordero who is a former DOE Scholar which the DOE Scholars Program is one of ORISE's research participation programs. She's doing great work for the Department of Energy right now, and we're gonna talk about all of that. But first, Cristina Cordero, welcome to the ORISE Featurecast. Tell me who you are. - Thank you. So, very quick about myself. I'm Cristina Cordero, I currently serve as the program coordinator for the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program at the US Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. I was a DOE Scholar participant a few years ago and I also currently serve as a mentor for the DOE Scholars Program, and I've also served as a mentor for the MISA program as well. - Awesome. So we're gonna get into all of that, but first tell me about your current role, both as the program coordinator for the Mickey Leland Fellowship, but also in the Fossil Energy Office and kinda what you do. - Absolutely. So the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program is a 10 week summer internship for students in STEM at the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. So with that, we provide students with the opportunity to conduct research at our national labs in our headquarters. And it's a really interesting and fun role. It's very rewarding being able to go out, talk to students about this opportunity, and then see them come in into the Department of Energy over the summer. And then at the end of the summer, they actually get to present their research findings. So I also get to learn from them along the way. - That has to be really cool. - It really is. - To get to see that whole process sort of in action. - It really is. It's very cool. It's very rewarding. And every year we get different students, we get different research projects. So, I feel like every year I'm learning a little bit more and me not being a STEM person, I feel like I'm learning along the way. So it's pretty amazing. - That's awesome. So I have to ask you because you just said you're not a STEM person, how does a non-STEM person get to the STEM field that you're in? - Absolutely. So people sometimes think that the Department of Energy, it's all STEM, it's all engineers, it's all physicists, but there's actually a need for multiple, people with multiple majors within the Department of Energy. So you need people like me, for example, program coordinator. My background is in communications and public administration, which I feel really allows me to be able to provide assistance with this program. And then alongside with me, I have people that work in communications, program management, finance, budgeting. So, even though the department might be focused on a lot of science and research, there's really a need for people of all areas within the Department of Energy. - So, to, I guess back up a little bit, when you entered the DOE Scholars Program I'm assuming that you came in as communications and business administration as opposed to on the STEM side of things? - Correct. So when I started my DOE Scholars Program I was completing my master's degree in public administration. So I came with some background in communications which was my bachelor's degree. But I was also putting those skills into that role that I had as a DOE Scholars Program. And then because I was providing assistance with an internship program, it really helped having that public administration background as well. - Awesome. So talk about your, DOE Scholars experience, you know, all of the ORISE programs, you know, our mentored experiences. So what was it like to be in a mentored experience in the DOE Scholars Program, and what did you do, you know, did you have a research project that you completed or you know, what was the, I guess, the outcome of your participation in the program as well? And I know that's a big question or multiple questions, but-- - No, it's actually, so with the DOE Scholars Program, I was providing assistance with the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program. So kind of like how it started with my current role. So as a DOE Scholar helping with the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program, or MLEF, I was doing a little bit of everything. I was doing some graphic design, I was doing communication, I was doing program management. I also started doing recruitment, which is one of the parts that I absolutely love about my role as the DOE Scholar and currently as a Program Coordinator with this program. So it was just doing a lot of different things which also allowed me to learn and from different areas within my role. - That's great. And so, my background is in communications as well so I just, for the folks who are listening, you don't have to be a scientist or an engineer or a mathematician to participate in programs like the DOE Scholars Program. I think that's important for people to know. 'Cause, you know, like you said, people just assume that, it's all science all the time and it is, but also, you need folks like you with communications background and public administration backgrounds to manage the programs and do the communications and all of those things. So there are, there are roles for everybody. - Absolutely. And that's one of the things that I try to do when I go out to universities to talk about the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program. Our program mostly focuses on STEM students, but we also meet with students from other majors. And the DOE Scholars Program, it's one of those programs that I often share, like, "Hey, I did it. I'm not, my background is not in STEM, but I had an amazing time." So I always encourage them to check out that program and apply if they're eligible. - So, got your BA bachelor's degree in communications. Where did you, Cristina, fall in love with the idea of being a communications major? I mean, I know for me, you know, I was editor of the school paper in high school and, you know, all of those things. Is that part of your backstory or did you approach it in a different way? - So that's actually a really funny story. So, throughout high school, I was kind of like the kind of kid that was always by herself. I didn't talk a whole lot. I was always reading or kind like in my own world. And when it was time to look at that catalog I knew that I wanted to go to the University of Puerto Rico. So I was looking at the catalog of different majors that they offer. It's like, what is something that will be completely different from who I am right now? Something that will help me get out of my shell? And I decided, well, let's go with communications. That sounds pretty interesting. So I decided to enroll in a bachelor's in communications with a concentration in advertising and public relations. - Oh my goodness. - Completely different than who I was when I was in high school. And I absolutely loved it. And it was absolutely a ride. It took me a long time just to kind of feel like I was fitting in, but once I did, oh, it was amazing. - Sounds great. Was there a particular moment where sort of everything came together and you were like, "Oh my gosh I'm so glad I did this?" - So, I wanted to do internships because I wanted to get out there and I wanted to put the knowledge that I was getting in the classroom and actually use it. So my first internship was actually at Walt Disney World and I was a merchandise hostess there. So, it meant talking to a lot of people, but it also meant almost being in character this whole time. So it's like, "Okay, this is a great opportunity for me to use my experiences in public relations." And going through that program, I absolutely loved talking to people. I loved meeting people from all over the world. But I also realized, I love that there are programs out there that help students like me put the knowledge that they're getting from their classroom and put it into like, real world experiences. So, how can I help others have experiences like this? And that's actually how my whole career in being in an internship started. Because after I came back from that student, from that internship, I was actually a campus recruiter for that internship throughout my college career. So that's kind of how everything started. - So you've kinda always been a recruiter or at least for a long time. - Yes, yes. - That's amazing. So, you go from recruiting people to work at Disney World, to now you're recruiting folks to come work for the Department of Energy. Aside from sort of the, you know, Disney World versus Department of Energy, is there a difference in how you make that recruitment? Or does it ultimately land in, you know, sort of getting to the heart of what students are looking for? Is there a secret sauce, I guess? - It's just listening to what the students want. You know, sometimes they're gonna be very focused on like this is what I want, and you're gonna try to guide them as best as you can. But other times they're gonna come with an open minds like, "Hey, I've never done an internship before. I don't know where to start." And that's when we start having a conversation and seeing what their interests are and if they align with the programs that we offer at the Office of Fossil Energy, or even at the Department of Energy. And I think the great thing about internships, it's like, Hey, you have this opportunity to do a program for the summer or for other programs you can do it over the spring or the fall. If you love it, great. If you decide that that wasn't for you, also great, because you learn something about yourself. - And it's not a lifetime commitment, right? I mean, it's 10 weeks, it's 20 weeks, whatever. So, you do it if you love it, find something, you know that builds on that. If you don't, you find something else. Right? - Correct. And I had some internships on where I was very grateful about the experiences that I got from them, but I realized this is not the career that I wanna have in the future, but I still learned something about myself. And I knew I know not to look for jobs in that field because it's not what I wanna do at the end of the day. - Which is great advice for anyone who's listening. Internships aren't forever, but you always come away with something that you learn, that you use and that you learn really about yourself and what works and what doesn't. So, Cristina, talk about as a DOE Scholar, you had a mentor. Talk about that relationship and what you learned being mentored and then how you use what you know to mentor the students that you're mentoring today. - Absolutely. So I was very, very lucky that I had great mentors as I was a DOE Scholar. So I had the director of our office, Alan Perry, and then I had my mentor, Sandra Penaherrera, and they were amazing. They taught me so, so much and I will be forever grateful to them. And one of the things that absolutely I will be always grateful for was for them helping me how to navigate the federal government because it can be overwhelming at first. And I had so many questions and I just I didn't know what to do at first. Like, how does this work? And they were always so kind and willing to answer all of my questions. I felt like I was asking like, the silliest questions, and they were like, "No", they're like, "This is for you to learn." And I feel like that's what I like doing now. It's kind of helping others navigate through the ins and outs of the federal government, but also, you know, how to work in an office environment because sometimes it's hard making the transition from the classroom to the office. So, that's also what we, what we try to do. It's like, you know, what are some of the key elements of being successful in an office environment. And I absolutely love it because I was there when I started, so, it feels great giving back. - That's great. And do you also have to teach some of the soft skills like how to give a presentation and how to maybe interview people or talk to other people in a way that gets information that you're looking for, those sorts of things? - Yeah, so some of our past participants that I've mentored, I've taken them to do recruitment, so I've also been able to teach them a little bit of what I know. They also help with the program in terms of the communication aspect and the graphic design. So I've been able to provide some guidance on things that I was doing when I started and pass that knowledge into other participants now. - Cristina, is there a particular challenge that you can remember that you had to overcome? And how did you overcome that challenge? - So, one challenge, definitely, and I think a lot of people will definitely relate to this was during 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, on where we went from fully in person to fully virtual. And as someone who loved going into the office, all of a sudden being stuck at home, it was not great. I didn't know where to start. It was just uncomfortable at the beginning because I was not prepared to be fully virtual. I was working from my sofa, which was not the ideal work location. - Right. - And it really took a lot of trial and error to kind of get in the groove of things. Not only that, this happened as we were planning an in-person program for the summer with the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program and we had to transition into a completely virtual program which it was great because the students still got the opportunity to complete their research projects, but at the same time it was a lot of stress and a lot of work in order to make that happen. Something that we've never done before. And honestly, it was very successful. And we currently now offer a hybrid program. This is the second year of us doing a hybrid program on where we have students in person and students completing their project remotely. And that is in part from the lessons learned from transitioning into a fully virtual program in 2020. - That's great. And of course, we were all there, we all felt it. I know that our company, you know, we're still, a lot of us are in hybrid situations, so it's become the way of the world. But to sort of be on the front lines of adjusting an entire program on the fly, I can imagine had to be daunting and cause a little bit of stress. - A little bit. But at the end of the day when the students presented their research projects and we saw them on DOD, on my monitor and doing their presentations like, this was all worth it. - And it worked. It, everything came together at the end. So, that's great. Cristina, I have to imagine, because you're now coordinating the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship, your DOE Scholars Program, your ORISE experience was a good one. So you would recommend ORISE experiences to other folks? - So yes, it was an amazing experience being a DOE Scholar. It provided me with a lot of knowledge that then helped me transition into this current role that I have. And as I mentioned, I love going out to universities and conferences and talking to students and I meet students that might be eligible for this program. So I absolutely share this opportunity as one for them to apply. - That's great. Cristina, is there anything I haven't asked you that you wanna make sure that we cover in our conversation? - I can't think of something. - That's okay. That's okay. I just wanna make sure we cover all the bases. Cristina, last question for you. What brings you joy? - Oh goodness. A lot of things bring me joy. I, at first, it brings me joy to see the MLEF participants doing their research and presenting at the end of the summer. Also, it brings me joy to go out fencing. I'm a fencer, something that I started over the pandemic. Yes, it was a great sport because you got to wear a mask and if people got too close to you you got to poke them with a stick. - I love that. That sounds amazing. - So it's, it's pretty cool. Something that I picked up a couple of years ago and it brings me a lot of joy. And my cats bring me joy. I have three cats. They're amazing. I feel like sometimes they're my coworkers since I'm working from home full-time now. But, they also keep me happy, and it's always nice to see them after a stressful day. - Awesome. Well, Cristina Cordero, thank you so for the opportunity to talk to you and get to know a little bit more about you and about the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship and your work your experience as a DOE Scholar. I really appreciate an opportunity to speak with you today. - Absolutely. Thank you for having me here today. It's been a joy and a pleasure. - Awesome. Thanks. Have a great day. - Thank you, you too. - [Announcer] Thank you for listening to the ORISE Featurecast. To learn more about the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, visit orise.orau.gov or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @oriseconnect. If you like the ORISE Featurecast give us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education is managed by ORAU for the US Department of Energy.