Author Archives: gmanti01

Dancing through graduate school: when passions and academia collide

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Written by Gina Mantica, Biology Ph.D. Candidate

Ever since the age of 5, I’ve been a dancer. I used to dance around my living room to Disney music, until my parents decided I needed some sort of outlet for my dancing habit. My parents signed me up for ballet classes shortly thereafter, and I’ve been taking dance classes and performing on stage ever since.

I was in my second year of undergrad when I was invited to perform in my first professional gig. I remember the moment vividly: I was at a retreat when my long-time mentor (and now, friend) left me a voicemail. I remember the feeling of butterflies in my stomach as I listened to my mentor say she had an opportunity for me to perform and get paid for my dancing. To this day, the voicemail is saved to my cell phone. That voicemail not only changed the trajectory of my dance career, but also altered how I now see myself “fitting into” academia.

Five-and-a-half years have passed since I performed in my first paid dance gig. Since then, I’ve danced in more professional productions than I can recall, ranging from a full-length production with Jazz Inc. Dance to a short-lived HGTV show “Spontaneous Construction”.

Also since then, I’ve grown a fondness for academia. I love learning and being able to research questions I am curious about. My time as a Ph.D. student here at Tufts is nothing short of a dream. However, academia is not always fond of me.

Since entering grad school, I have not stopped pursuing my passion for dance. Dance provides me with much more than just exercise; through dance, I find joy and a sense of comfort that I cannot get anywhere else. My refusal to give up something that I consider to be both a means of self-care and a crucial part of my identity rubs some academics, who, themselves, have lost sight of what a work-life balance should look like, the wrong way.

The pressures to conform to some academic ideal of a work-life balance (which, in reality, is not balanced at all) are not missing at Tufts. However, Tufts is such an incredibly diverse community and it is possible to find mentors and colleagues to surround yourself with that share your own opinion of what a work-life balance should look like. At Tufts, I have found friends in my department who will go take dance classes with me, or who will take a day off from work to go to the beach. I have found mentors who support my love of writing and outreach and who will provide me with opportunities to pursue my interests outside of the lab.

Most importantly, however, I have grown to realize that I don’t need to conform to some ideal of what an academic should look like; at Tufts, I am able to relieve myself of the pressures of “fitting into” academia and just be myself.

Biology Department Retreat!

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 Written by Gina Mantica, Biology Ph.D. Candidate

Giving game-playing instructions to the Biology Department with my megaphone and my helpful assistant, Mike Fath. IMAGES COURTESY RACHAEL BONOAN.

Last semester, the Biology department hosted its first ever departmental retreat, and I was lucky enough to be on the organizing Committee! The Biology department is separated on the Medford campus; half of the faculty are located in the new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) while the other half are located at 200 Boston Avenue. The SEC is about a fifteen-minute walk from 200 Boston Avenue, and the only time during the academic year that people from both buildings come together is on Fridays for our departmental seminar series. The Biology department retreat was born from the idea of bringing all faculty, staff, and students from both buildings on campus together in a relaxed setting for a day of learning, bonding, and fun. During the first half of the retreat, faculty and post-docs from both buildings presented their current projects. As a second year student relatively new to Tufts, it was great to hear about the work going on in other labs within my

 

Professor Mitch McVey and PhD Candidate Marcus Lehr working together to finish the relay race. IMAGES COURTESY RACHAEL BONOAN.

          During the second half of the retreat, students, faculty, and staff participated in team-building games organized by yours truly. I was a camp counselor for a few years during my undergraduate career, so organizing outdoor games and activities was really a treat for me. I planned a hula hoop passing game, a relay race, and a human knot activity for retreat participants. I got to use a megaphone when directing the activities, and I got to watch the influence of my camp counselor enthusiasm on adults.

One team working together to untangle their “knot”. IMAGES COURTESY OF RACHAEL BONOAN.

          My favorite part of the retreat was directing and watching the human knot activity. I separated the department into four equal teams and instructed everyone in each team to cross their left hand over their right hand in a tight circle facing inwards. I then told everyone to grab the hands of two different people in their group, and work together, once connected, to untangle the “knot”. The human knot activity requires every individual to actively work with others to uncross not only their own hands but also the hands of their teammates. Additionally, the human knot activity tends to be successful only when teammates communicate their thoughts and ideas with others in their group. For example, if one individual tries to untangle the knot by themselves, they could end up dragging their teammates along and pulling people to the ground instead of helping others up or helping the team get out of the knot.
            Many scientists pride themselves on being independent thinkers and workers, so the human knot activity proved especially hard for some teams. I coached struggling teams on openly discussing their ideas with their teammates and pushed for some of the more reluctant team members to participate in the open discussion. In the end, all teams successfully untangled their “knots”!

              The memories made at the retreat and the experiences shared between students, faculty, and staff created a noticeably more inclusive and welcoming environment within the Biology department. I look forward to attending the next Biology department retreat and welcoming the newest cohort of graduate students into our Tufts Biology family!

The first team to successfully untangle their human knot. IMAGES COURTESY OF RACHAEL BONOAN.