Schuyler Borges
About Me
My background is in geology, but now I more generally study astrobiology. Currently, I am a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University (NAU) mentored and advised by Dr. Lillian Ostrach at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center.
Originally from Bakersfield, CA, I first got involved in Antarctic and Mars research my first year of undergrad at the University of California, Davis. I was a member of Dr. Dawn Sumner's lab group, which focuses generally on geobiology, microbiology, and astrobiology. Specifically, the group characterizes Antarctic microbial mats in ice-covered lakes, relating them to ancient life on Earth and uses Curiosity rover data to further explore Mars. After my first year, I transferred to Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, but I remained in contact with Dr. Dawn Sumner and Dr. Frances Rivera-Hernández. Within my last year of my undergraduate degree, I worked with Dr. Marion Nachon, who was a postdoc in the Sumner lab at the time, doing Martian research. In 2018, I graduated from Lawrence University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology.
My experiences as a person with multiple marginalized identities has made me passionate about equitable teaching and mentorship. As part of an Introduction to Astrobiology Lab, I designed curricula to be flexible with my students' needs and purposefully integrated assignments into the course that educated my students about scientists with one or more marginalized identity. For the final project, I encouraged my students to use any form of medium they felt comfortable with to demonstrate a concept they learned in the course. For example, I had students create poems, sculptures, drawings, and even a board game. As part of my passion for breaking down access barriers to STEMM, I also co-led an Astronomy and Planetary Science Graduate School 101 Workshop for first generation students. While this course never came to fruition because of the pandemic, I even co-developed an accessible Planetary Science Field Course for community college students and those not already in the field of planetary science. Outside of these endeavors, I've mentored numerous individuals within STEMM: one on a research project and the rest within crisis response. All of these individuals also had one or more marginalized identities, and the relationships we built included the support of these identities as well.
Outside of research and education, I have also advocated for people with marginalized identities through my involvement with other organizations. In 2019 and 2020, I was the Conference Vice Chair for the professional organization, oSTEM. Since then, I've been a part of gender equity efforts within astronomy and planetary science as well as the general physical sciences. The crisis response work I've participated in the last two and a half years has been with THRIVE Lifeline, which is a trans-owned crisis hotline staffed by and for people with marginalized identities in STEMM. As a Crisis Responder, Training Assistant, Trainer, Crisis Responder Mentor, and the Deputy Director for Volunteer Success, I have learned how to effectively support, communicate, and connect with people with marginalized identities both in and outside of crisis situations. I have also learned how to effectively build community with others, and I've developed valuable trauma- and community-informed de-escalation skills centered around humanization. Ultimately, I have learned how important community and a sense of belonging is to literally surviving academia, and the skills I've gained as a part of THRIVE have not only made me a better person, but they have made me a better scientist as well.
The community building skills I have gained from working with THRIVE Lifeline have also helped me build community within the early career astrobiology community. Initially started by a small group of us who connected at AbGradCon 2020, the STROMATOLITES (Studying Totally Rad Objects in Modern and Ancient Thermal, Oceanic, Lithified, and Inter-layered Textures on Earth/Exoplanets Syndicate) is a collaborative international early career research group in astrobiology. Through STROMATOLITES, I've been able to collaborate with other amazing early career researchers on important and interesting projects and help create a sense of community, especially for those who don't have a strong support network at their home institutions. I've also helped write a chapter of the Astrobiology Primer v3.0, which is an open-access article written by early career researchers from all over the world discussing the state of the field of astrobiology. Through my involvement with the Early Career Council of NfoLD (Network for Life Detection), I have also co-led journal club discussions on a range of astrobiology topics. Overall, these involvements within the early career astrobiology community have greatly supported me as a person and as a scientist.
I believe that community is necessary not only for existing in and outside scientific fields but also for breaking down oppressive systems that continue to marginalize people who are Black, Indigenous, Brown, immigrants, LGBTQIA2S+, disabled, neurodivergent, fat, unhoused, poor, and have intersections within and beyond these categories.
If you would like to get in touch to chat more about anything mentioned (or not mentioned) previously, you can visit my contact page!
Originally from Bakersfield, CA, I first got involved in Antarctic and Mars research my first year of undergrad at the University of California, Davis. I was a member of Dr. Dawn Sumner's lab group, which focuses generally on geobiology, microbiology, and astrobiology. Specifically, the group characterizes Antarctic microbial mats in ice-covered lakes, relating them to ancient life on Earth and uses Curiosity rover data to further explore Mars. After my first year, I transferred to Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, but I remained in contact with Dr. Dawn Sumner and Dr. Frances Rivera-Hernández. Within my last year of my undergraduate degree, I worked with Dr. Marion Nachon, who was a postdoc in the Sumner lab at the time, doing Martian research. In 2018, I graduated from Lawrence University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology.
My experiences as a person with multiple marginalized identities has made me passionate about equitable teaching and mentorship. As part of an Introduction to Astrobiology Lab, I designed curricula to be flexible with my students' needs and purposefully integrated assignments into the course that educated my students about scientists with one or more marginalized identity. For the final project, I encouraged my students to use any form of medium they felt comfortable with to demonstrate a concept they learned in the course. For example, I had students create poems, sculptures, drawings, and even a board game. As part of my passion for breaking down access barriers to STEMM, I also co-led an Astronomy and Planetary Science Graduate School 101 Workshop for first generation students. While this course never came to fruition because of the pandemic, I even co-developed an accessible Planetary Science Field Course for community college students and those not already in the field of planetary science. Outside of these endeavors, I've mentored numerous individuals within STEMM: one on a research project and the rest within crisis response. All of these individuals also had one or more marginalized identities, and the relationships we built included the support of these identities as well.
Outside of research and education, I have also advocated for people with marginalized identities through my involvement with other organizations. In 2019 and 2020, I was the Conference Vice Chair for the professional organization, oSTEM. Since then, I've been a part of gender equity efforts within astronomy and planetary science as well as the general physical sciences. The crisis response work I've participated in the last two and a half years has been with THRIVE Lifeline, which is a trans-owned crisis hotline staffed by and for people with marginalized identities in STEMM. As a Crisis Responder, Training Assistant, Trainer, Crisis Responder Mentor, and the Deputy Director for Volunteer Success, I have learned how to effectively support, communicate, and connect with people with marginalized identities both in and outside of crisis situations. I have also learned how to effectively build community with others, and I've developed valuable trauma- and community-informed de-escalation skills centered around humanization. Ultimately, I have learned how important community and a sense of belonging is to literally surviving academia, and the skills I've gained as a part of THRIVE have not only made me a better person, but they have made me a better scientist as well.
The community building skills I have gained from working with THRIVE Lifeline have also helped me build community within the early career astrobiology community. Initially started by a small group of us who connected at AbGradCon 2020, the STROMATOLITES (Studying Totally Rad Objects in Modern and Ancient Thermal, Oceanic, Lithified, and Inter-layered Textures on Earth/Exoplanets Syndicate) is a collaborative international early career research group in astrobiology. Through STROMATOLITES, I've been able to collaborate with other amazing early career researchers on important and interesting projects and help create a sense of community, especially for those who don't have a strong support network at their home institutions. I've also helped write a chapter of the Astrobiology Primer v3.0, which is an open-access article written by early career researchers from all over the world discussing the state of the field of astrobiology. Through my involvement with the Early Career Council of NfoLD (Network for Life Detection), I have also co-led journal club discussions on a range of astrobiology topics. Overall, these involvements within the early career astrobiology community have greatly supported me as a person and as a scientist.
I believe that community is necessary not only for existing in and outside scientific fields but also for breaking down oppressive systems that continue to marginalize people who are Black, Indigenous, Brown, immigrants, LGBTQIA2S+, disabled, neurodivergent, fat, unhoused, poor, and have intersections within and beyond these categories.
If you would like to get in touch to chat more about anything mentioned (or not mentioned) previously, you can visit my contact page!