UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — "These pitches are to hear your own words reflected back onto you,” said Aaron Mattingly-Daniels, director of graduate equity programs in the Penn State Eberly College of Science Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the 2026 Empower Conference on Feb. 7. “If you feel great about it, that's amazing! If you feel like it doesn't quite capture where you stand, dig deeper and find out what really affirms your place in science.”
In his session, “Your Science Identity Elevating Pitch,” Mattingly-Daniels worked with Empower attendees to develop an “elevating pitch,” a statement about staking a claim of belonging.
Empower, an annual event aimed at building connections through community, was led by the Graduate Women in Science, State College Chapter. The event had over 200 attendees with approximately 20% of those attendees being undergraduate students. In addition to students, the event also brought together faculty, staff and high schoolers who participated in the day’s events.