“Personal journeys are compelling & people respond to them because they see themselves”

Sarafina Nance is a graduate student in Astrophysics at UC-Berkeley who is incredibly skilled at sharing her life’s journey with passion, clarity, & honesty. We discuss her discovery of a supernova, dealing with entrenched sexism and misogyny in academia, her transparency around her BRCA + journey, and gaining confidence in doing all of this work.

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Key Learnings

1. On finding a supernova(!!!) and how to celebrate the event

2. Current state of being a woman in the sciences.

3. Dealing with entrenched racism and misogyny in academia & the profound negative impact it has

4. How do institutions deal with feedback and how the toxic power structure is so fatiguing and dangerous

5. Where Sarafina’s enthusiasm comes from, especially in the face of so many barriers

6. Leveraging transparency and enthusiasm when talking about her journey with being BRCA positive and having prophylactic surgery

7. The unindintended consequences of sharing so openly about her journey

8. Dealing with negativity when sharing a personal story and finding confidence in the work

9. Making the choice to have prophylactic mastectomy, moving through recovery and considering her future

10. Being an advocate for women’s health, educating the public, and removing stigma

Links

Twitter & Instagram: @starstrickenSF

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