Happy New Year everyone! Hope you enjoyed (or currently are enjoying) winter break :]

In the spirit of the new year, a couple of us at TP spent this afternoon discussing the JOURNYS vision. From publishing articles to helping underprivileged schools, an organization like JOURNYS can impact STEM education in so many ways. That's why we wanted to establish a set of core values and a clear sense of direction for the years to come. 

Two hours, one pad of post-its, and a dozen brownies later..... We came up with some goals and ideas for JOURNYS which I've outlined here. Please take a look and drop a comment below. We'd love to hear your input!

  • There are two things that sets us apart from most high school publications.  Even as we expand in the future, these are values that we'd like to keep. 
      • Entirely student-run
      • Bringing science to a broad, diverse student audience (not only students that are interested in science to begin with).
  • We want JOURNYS to be driven by genuine curiosity and individual motivation. 
      • Articles should start with a question... "Does music make you smarter?" "Why do people yawn when they see others yawn?" 
      • This leads to so many other opportunities: one-on-one feedback from a scientist reviewer, discussions with peers, ideas for future projects and articles, more questions.... 
  • It's time to join the digital revolution! Using the JOURNYS website
      • Online forum of ideas: a place where JOURNYS members that live thousands of miles apart can have a conversation about common scientific interests
      • Forum can double as a tutoring network 
      • Articles can be published frequently as they are written, instead of waiting for months for a single print issue. 
      • Print issues (while still important) can be thinner, more appealing previews of the awesomeness that is the JOURNYS website.
  • Increased member involvement (beyond just writing articles....)
      • Collaboration with middle schools, bringing science to younger students
      • Active participation at meetings and website forums
      • Gathering and sharing data. (Example: You want to conduct a behavioral study and publish an article on it. You can enlist the help of JOURNYS members nationwide, who will survey students in their own localities and send the data to you. )
      • Creating a JOURNYS alumni network (becoming a scientist reviewer, supporting current members, etc.)
  • Improving communication/transparency
      • More face time between members!
      • TP staff meetings will split up into smaller groups, led by leadership and senior members. 
      • A smaller setting is perfect for meeting new people, asking questions, and nerding out over the latest scientific discoveries :]
      • Meeting recaps like this will be posted here in the future!! Stay tuned :D

Many of the ideas are long-term goals, but have great potential nonetheless. The vision of a student-run organization--linked by an online nexus of ideas, a sense of community, and each member's individual interest in science--truly is an inspiring one. We hope to work towards that in the new year.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions, New Year's resolutions? Post them here. We look forward to hearing from you!

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