Newsletter
Is it worth spending time on volunteering? Do I have time for volunteering? And many other questions arise when one thinks about volunteering – Here are stories that will shatter those questions or doubts.
A catalyst is known to accelerate a reaction, and it is no different when volunteering for the MCAA. It accelerates one’s career path by letting people explore their ideas, and identify their likes, while allowing them to learn new skills that can be a concrete addition to their CVs. Volunteering would mean that you put in extra hours but every volunteer happily agreed it is totally worth it. These words might seem like a cliché but the stories are compelling and enlightening which helps you to feel the enormity of opportunities.
In this article, I share candid revelations from mostly MCAA volunteers whose careers were shaped better with skill enrichment and networking. These stories are testament to the fact that there is plenty of room for researchers of every kind to engage in passionate ideas while serving the society at large.
Fernanda Bajanca, the outgoing chair of the MCAA recalls that her volunteering journey started as a non-active member. But once becoming active she realised it to be a powerhouse of exploration, activity participation and experimentation that allows mindful contribution. She chaired the policy working group within the MCAA and received ‘outstanding contributor award’ for her engagement. Currently, she is a manager for clinical tests in a children’s hospital and says that her volunteering journey has channelled and enhanced her career path ever since becoming an active member.
Ruben Riosa, the communications manager of the MCAA started his journey within MCAA as an early stage researcher who was looking forward to an academic career. But the journey transformed his interests and led to horizons beyond academia. His active participation led to fascination about science communication that sprouted the idea of switching careers. Being an outstanding contributor award himself highlights that the awardees are usually encouraged to use the award money for career development related training activities.
Renaud Jolivet, professor of neuroscience in Maastricht University entered MCAA with the motive of mentoring early stage researchers. He narrates that networking and activity participation boosted his confidence and enhanced the ability to handle responsibilities. While such skills are considered effective for an industrial career, he says they were equally helpful in his academic career, allowing participation in initiatives both within and beyond academia. Being a career awardee within the MCAA, it was only right for him to say that the MCAA made him a better academic overall.
Ashish Avasthi, current chair of the communication working group says his journey within the MCAA started as an exploration but later developed into a journey of gaining various skills, growing networks and engaging with stakeholders. He pitched in the fact that within MCAA one is always encouraged to take up responsibilities but never forced. And he suggested not worrying about receiving ‘Nos’ because one ‘yes’ will make all the changes that will catalyse things further.
Joanna Moscoso, a MCAA member is the ‘co-founder and Director of Chaperone’ whose current job is a result of volunteering that was initiated from her passion for communicating science to children. She admired the idea of volunteering because it has allowed her to hang out with like-minded people during leisure time which aids capacitive building and is found to be purely transformative. And she proudly says that impacting people through a work that you are passionate about is so soulfilling and life-changing.
Now all that being said about the uplifting characteristics of volunteering, does that mean everything is smooth behind the scenes? Definitely not, there are several aspects of volunteering that require improvement. While everyone emphasized that volunteering provides an opportunity to attain diversified skills that can accelerate a career path, they did not ignore parts of their experience that demonstrated the need for a cultural shift in mindset. They highlighted aspects like knowing when to say ‘NO’, encouragement in the form of awards that helped them keep sailing. However, it was brought to notice that most of them received neither encouragement or discouragement from their working place for volunteering. Therefore strongly recommend institutionalisation of volunteering. Because, as all these stories are shouting out loud, volunteering means contributing to society while enhancing your careers, which must be the heart of Organizations and Institutions around the world.
Shanmugapriya Periyannan
Shanmugapriya Periyannan linkedin
Vice-chair
MCAA Communication Working Group
@PK_ActNow