Original Script

Introduction
(Rachel) Welcome everyone! (Introduce Rachel, Hazel, Kit, name and major)
(Kit) When we shared our majors just now, most of you could probably picture what a typical environmental scientist, dental hygienist, and pharmacist does.
(Hazel) Today we are going to discuss some of the alternative career options that exist within these three professions, who might be suited to them, and how to pursue them.

Environmental science – Rachel
Environmental science is a major everyone’s heard about, but not one people genuinely know that much about. Most people look at environmental science majors as people who go on to do research on small, endangered critters like salamanders, or study climate change. While many environmental scientists do focus on climate change or conservation biology, there are countless pathways for anyone interested in the natural world and how it works due to the interdisciplinary nature of humans and their interactions with the ecological world. Two roles that are especially underappreciated in the world, and incredibly important in this day and age, are that of nature writers and environmental engineers.
Nature writing is essentially any form of writing, scientific, journalistic, or creative, that involves discussion of the environment in some capacity.
This type of role is great at engaging with the general public, who often is isolated from the science community due to the jargon and highly-intricate processes explained in heavy detail within articles and studies performed by scientists. Emotionally, this role can help connect with the general public while also preventing misinformation from being spread due to a lack of understanding of scientific papers by the general public.
To become a nature writer, an environmental science major should take classes that combine disciplines of journalism and literature, history, ecology, biology, and sociology and psychology, as this will provide a well-rounded understanding of the environment that gives you more information to use in your writings.
With social media, AI, and the rise of anti-science sentiments, using emotionally-charged writing and more concise explanations of natural processes will not only help educate and encourage public involvement in the fight for a better environment, but also help pave the way for future generations to have a more well-rounded understanding of the world.
Another alternative path that can fulfill an interest in the environment without being a hundred percent ecology focused is environmental engineering.
Environmental engineering focuses on following existing regulations for buildings and technology in terms of design, construction, and maintenance, as well as developing new technologies to solve issues posed by climate change, natural disasters, pollution, and more.
Becoming an environmental engineer through an environmental science degree involves more STEM classes than disciplines such as environmental law or nature writing, such as chemistry, physics, ecology, mathematics, and policy.
Environmental engineering is an excellent option for students who want to be directly involved with innovation and solutions but don’t necessarily want to be involved in policy itself.
I picked environmental science as a major because I had a lot of struggles with narrowing down what I want: I want to learn about everything (except chemistry. I don’t like chemistry). It also allows me to feel like I’m making a difference in the world (especially when we live in a time with a lot of different issues happening all at once, like climate change’s various impacts). This major additionally allows me to explore different minors in new ways due to the influence of the various topics we discuss in environmental classes (in my advanced fiction workshop class for my writing minor and advanced studies, I had learned a lot about environmental injustice previously, so I applied themes of environment as a metaphor for classism and sexism in my story).

Dental hygiene – Hazel
Dental hygiene is a difficult program, but it sets you up for a great career. For most of my life, I assumed that all hygienists worked in dental offices. While that is what many hygienists do, there are other roles in the profession that are just as important but aren’t as well-known. Two that are especially important right now are roles in education and roles in public health and/or research.
As educators, people with dental hygiene degrees can teach and instruct in classroom, lab, or clinical settings.
This type of role could be a great fit for someone who is detail-oriented, has a desire to dive deep into specific subjects, and wants to share their knowledge with others. It also helps to have plenty of patience and good communication skills.
With the current shortage of hygienists, it will be important to have passionate and knowledgeable educators to prepare the next generation of hygienists entering the field.
Public health and research are other great ways to use a dental hygiene degree in a non-traditional way.
A future in either of these areas might appeal to you if you are more of a big picture thinker.
Public health roles could allow you to collaborate with health-centered organizations, influence policy, or address disparities in access to dental healthcare.
Research roles could allow you to work in a variety of settings while exploring the intersections of oral health with other disciplines and developing or refining practices and processes.
Either of these areas might appeal to you if you prefer to spend more of your time working behind the scenes while still having the chance to make change on a large scale.
The educational paths for teaching, public health, and research will be similar.
Many students will start with a bachelor’s degree, gain some clinical experience, and then pursue a master’s in dental hygiene.
Some graduate programs have different tracks which will allow you to specialize in your area of interest right away.
Personally, I love breaking down complex concepts and processes to understand the “why” behind them. I also love to share the things that I learn with other people. For those reasons, I’m excited to work towards a role in education.
Overall, the field of dental hygiene is more broad than most people realize. There are many different ways to use your degree to help people while also leaning into your personal strengths and interests.

Pharmacy – Kit
Pharmacy is also a difficult program, but if you put in the work, it can be an incredibly rewarding career. Once you have graduated, you will have a doctorate in pharmacy (known as a PharmD), and a lot of experience under your belt.
There are lots of concentrations you can explore in graduate school as things such as clinical rotations and electives are built into the program.
Most people tend to think of pharmacists solely as the people in CVS that hand you your prescriptions, but there is so much more to it. Yes, you can be a pharmacist at a retail store, but you could also work at a hospital, from your own home, or even in your patients homes.
Two specialties I’d like to expand on today are compounding and home infusion pharmacy.
A compounding pharmacist prepares specialized medications for their patients.
For example, if your patient has difficulty swallowing pills, you can formulate a liquid form or an ointment of their medication in order to cater to their individual needs.
If you decide to specialize in compounding, you’ll likely work in a community pharmacy.
Working within your community can be really fulfilling as you can see over time how you’ve been able to help make your patients’ lives a little easier.
Everyone has different needs, and as a compounding pharmacist you are able to work with individuals in your community to ensure their prescriptions are accessible and work best for them.
A home infusion pharmacist prepares and monitors specialized infusions for the patient to administer at home, as opposed to receiving it in a medical facility.
You will most likely work in a home infusion facility, which are commonly associated with hospitals and other care providers.
Home infusions are common for patients that need long-term care, and allows them to be in the comfort of their own home while they receive treatment.
Hospitals can be a stressful place to be in, especially for long periods of time, so being able to give a patient the option to receive care at home can reduce that anxiety.
Being able to provide a service like home infusion can give your patients the space to heal in a familiar and comfortable setting, which can also be fulfilling knowing you were able to help make that happen.
For me, I really like how closely you can work with a patient as a pharmacist and, hopefully, be able to improve their quality of life. I’ve always been passionate about science and it was only recently that I decided to switch to pharmacy. Up until then I hadn’t given much thought to pharmacy, probably because it is so behind the scenes: and that’s what draws me to it.
As a pharmacist, although you might not work as directly with your patients as say a nurse might, you’re still able to do incredibly important work for your community.

Conclusion
(Rachel) As you can tell, there are numerous alternative career paths that you can pursue with degrees in environmental science, dental hygiene, and pharmacy.
(Hazel) If you are pursuing one of these degrees, but feel unsure about what your future could look like, lean into your unique set of skills and interests to find a niche that works best for you.

Dry-Dry Run

Dry Run

Final Script

Notes from Dry-Dry Run:

  • Swap introduction order
    • Not Kit doing A and immediately jumping into B
  • Maybe come up with a name for the panel?
  • Transition from intro to Rachel section
    • Speaking less rushed for final draft (may be hard to follow)
  • (Could apply to each section) Maybe a format to follow for each subsection (Main point, elaboration, recap, transition)
  • More declarative statements, speak to audience
  • Back and forth between sections?
  • Rachel Section
    • Drop some of the discipline examples, it’s a mouthful and may be unnecessary
    • Eye contact (will come with rehearsal)
    • “Than disciplines such as” → “humanities-based courses” in environmental engineer section
  • Hazel Section
    • Clean up introduction
  • Kit Section
    • Don’t repeat the “retail and pharmacy bit”
      • Maybe change to “can do that” to make less of a mouthful
  • Iron out transition to personal goals
  • Personal Goal Sections
    • Rachel
      • If you’re going to do the chemistry joke, sound sillier
    • I think we can all aim to sound more relaxed and less formal which will happen with practice
  1. Introduction
    1. (Rachel) Welcome to the Career Path Panel, everyone! (Introduce self: Rachel, Kit, Hazel name and major)
    2. (Kit) Most of you can probably picture what a typical environmental scientist, dental hygienist, or pharmacist does. 
    3. (Hazel) Today, we are going to discuss some of the alternative career options that exist within these three professions, who might be suited to them, and how to pursue them. 

(Transition – Hazel) Let’s start with you Rachel.

  1. Environmental Science – Rachel
    1. Environmental science is a major you’ve all heard about, but you may not realize all of the possible directions you can take with this degree. Most people expect environmental science majors to research endangered critters or study climate change, but there are other important-yet-underappreciated pathways to explore. Today, I’d like to talk about career options in nature writing and environmental engineering.
    2. Nature writing is scientific, journalistic, or creative writing that centers  discussion of the environment.
      1. The jargon and specialized writing in scientific articles often serves as a gatekeeper to the general public. As a nature writer, you can address this by presenting information in ways that help people connect with and gain interest in science and the natural world.
      2. To prepare for a future in nature writing, you should take classes that combine the disciplines of journalism, literature, history, and sociology. This will build upon your  understanding of the natural world and increase  your capacity to communicate effectively with your future audience.
      3. With the rise of social media, AI, and anti-science sentiments, using emotional writing to explain natural scientific processes will not only educate and encourage public involvement in the fight for a better environment, but can also pave the way for future generations to have a more well-rounded understanding of the world and their role within it.
    3. Environmental engineering is another path you can take with an environmental science degree.
      1. Environmental engineers work to bridge the gap between science and infrastructure by upholding existing regulations and developing new technologies to address environmental issues. For example— designing electric car batteries to reduce carbon and nitrous oxide emissions.
      2. To follow this path, you should take more STEM classes like chemistry, physics, and hydrology. 
      3. If you want to seek solutions to pollution and climate change but don’t necessarily want to be involved in policy itself, environmental engineering is an excellent path to pursue.

(Transition – Hazel) Thanks Rachel, those are some really interesting options that I hadn’t considered before. When researching my degree, I also found a wide range of possibilities.

  1. Dental hygiene – Hazel
    1. For most of my life, I assumed that all dental hygienists worked in offices providing cleanings and direct patient education. While that is the most common path, there are other lesser-known careers in the field. Three that are especially important right now are education, public health, and research.
    2. Dental hygiene educators teach and instruct in classroom, lab, or clinical settings.
      1. Teaching may appeal to you if you are detail-oriented, have a desire to dive deep into specific subjects, and want to share your knowledge with others. It also doesn’t hurt to have an abundance of patience and solid communication skills. 
      2. There is a growing shortage of hygienists as the baby-boomer generation retires. The pandemic also led to burnout for healthcare workers in all fields. This makes it all the more important to have passionate and knowledgeable educators to prepare the much-needed next wave of aspiring hygienists.
    3. Alternatively, careers in public health and research are other great ways to use your dental hygiene degree, especially if you’re a big picture thinker.
      1. Working in public health can allow you to collaborate with health-centered organizations, influence policy, or address disparities in access to dental healthcare.
      2. Working in research can allow you to explore the intersections of oral health with other disciplines, develop or refine practices, or oversee clinical trials and studies.
      3. In either of these areas, you will work more behind the scenes while still having the chance to make change on a large scale.
    4. The educational paths for all three types of careers will look similar.
      1. You will most likely start with a bachelor’s degree, gain some clinical experience, and then pursue a master’s degree. 
      2. Some graduate programs have specialized tracks which will allow you to pursue your area of interest right away.
    5. Overall, the field of dental hygiene offers  many different ways for you to help people and make a difference while also leaning into your personal strengths and interests.

(Transition – Kit) Thank you for your insight, Hazel. I never knew you could do all that with a dental hygiene degree.

  1. Pharmacy – Kit
    1. The pharmacy major sets you up to pursue your PharmD – a doctorate degree. The graduate school portion of the program allows you to explore different concentrations through clinical rotations and internships.
      1. You might just think of pharmacists as the people in CVS that hand you your prescriptions, but there are other concentrations that can set you up to work from hospitals or specialized facilities. 
      2. Two concentrations I’d like to expand on today are compounding and home infusion pharmacy.
    2. A compounding pharmacist prepares personalized medications in different forms to cater to individual patient needs.
      1. If you decide to specialize in compounding, you’ll likely work in a community pharmacy working directly with your patients to make how they take their medications easier.
      2. Everyone has different needs, and in this role, you are able to work with individuals to ensure that their prescriptions are accessible and effective.
      3. This type of career might work for you if you like making patient connections and working creatively.
    3. A home infusion pharmacist prepares specialized infusions for patients receiving care outside of a medical facility.
      1. In this role, you will most likely work in a pharmacy that specializes in home infusion, which are often associated with hospitals.
      2. Being in a hospital environment is stressful, especially for long periods of time, so patients that require long term care can really benefit from home infusion.
      3. Providing this service gives your patients the option to heal in a familiar and comfortable setting, which can be fulfilling knowing you were able to help make that happen. 
      4. Specializing in home infusions might be a good path for you if you like working behind the scenes and problem solving.

(Transition – Rachel, acknowledge Kit’s portion [didn’t know there were so many types of pharmacy!]) After discussing all of these different options, I’d love to talk about what each of us are hoping to do with our degrees. I’ll go first…

  1. Personal Goals
    1. (Rachel) I picked environmental science because I want to learn about everything (except chemistry. I don’t like chemistry). I also want to make a difference in the world— especially when we live in a time impacted by  climate change and other issues. This major allows me to incorporate minors in new ways due to the wide-reaching nature of the topics we discuss in environmental classes. For example, in my advanced fiction workshop class, I applied isolation from the environment as a metaphor for classism and sexism in a short story that I wrote. 
    2. (Hazel) (Transition, comment) Personally, I love breaking down complex concepts and processes to understand the “why” behind them. I  like sharing the things that I learn with other people, and I’ve enjoyed teaching in other parts of my life. For those reasons, I’m excited to work towards a role in education.
    3. (Kit) (Transition, comment) That’s an awesome goal to work towards, Hazel. For me, I like the idea of addressing specific patient needs and, hopefully, being able to improve their quality of life. As a pharmacist, I might not work as directly with my patients as say a nurse might, I can still do incredibly important work for my community.

(Transition – Rachel, acknowledge Kit’s portion [I like how we all share an interest in helping our community through our science majors])

  1. Conclusion
    1. (Rachel) As you can tell, there are numerous alternative career paths that you can pursue with degrees in environmental science, dental hygiene, and pharmacy. 
    2. (Hazel) If you are pursuing one of these degrees, but feel unsure about what your future could look like, lean into your unique set of skills and interests to find a niche that works best for you.

Final Video!