Membership: what's your story?

This month, we introduce a new column in CSA News called “Membership: What’s Your Story?” where we invite ASA, CSSA, and SSSA members to talk about their personal experiences with the Societies. Every member has a story. What’s yours? We’d love to hear from you. Email Send Message.

Deirdre Griffin LaHue

I first attended the ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Annual Meeting in 2011 as a Golden Opportunity Scholar when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland. My main takeaway from that first meeting was that I’d found my academic and professional community. Not only was I fascinated by all of the topics being presented, but the conference also allowed me to connect with professors and researchers at other institutions, many of whom I am still in touch with today. Those connections opened options when applying to graduate programs and, later, when applying for jobs. I continued to engage with the Societies and attend meetings throughout grad school at UC-Davis, which built my confidence in presenting and stimulated new research ideas. Now, as an assistant professor at Washington State University, I bring my own graduate students to the meeting every year. The Societies and the connections I have made through them have truly helped to guide me during my career and allowed me to be in the position I am in today.