Dear Ecolog community, I am available to offer feedback, dialog, or encouragement to fellow students who are applying to the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and who identify as having personal history or broader impact goals applicable to individuals with non externally apparent disabilities (neurological disorders, differences in styles of learning, mental illness, autism, dyslexia, etc...) and/or physical disabilities. I am a prior recipient of the fellowship and I have the perspective of living with the combo high functioning autism (Asperger's) and surviving a brain tumor. While disabilities of any kind are not commonly discussed as a diversity issue within the world of ecology (and mentorship is somewhat lacking), I am willing to bet that I am not the only student out there who has faced unusual challenges and who also aspires to be a strong scientist (considered equal to ones peers based strictly on intellectual merit). I understand that some of the broader impact/personal identity topics can be somewhat sensitive to disclose to others, so I am also willing to offer feedback regardless of whether or not you talk about these challenges within your application, and I am open to correspondence in an anonymous fashion.
Best wishes, Azure Zebu (pen name)
