Ask Me Anything: Subject-Matter Experts Answer Your Questions

Lara Harmon, ASA Marketing and Online Community Coordinator

Well, not quite anything. But, every month, ASA student and early-career members have the chance to ask professionals vital questions about transitioning from student to working life, building experience, assuming leadership, and more.

In September, ASA Science Policy Fellow Amy Nussbaum volunteered to be the ASA’s first “Ask Me Anything” expert. What is an Ask Me Anything (or AMA)? It’s a written online interview in which a subject-matter expert volunteers to answer questions submitted in real time by the members of a discussion group. Whether featuring pop culture heroes or NASA engineers, AMAs draw crowds of admirers and hopeful mentees online.

Thanks to the enthusiasm and insightful questions from the members of the ASA’s Young Professionals discussion group, our first ASA AMA took off. As did the second, with special guest 2016 ASA President Jessica Utts answering questions from the ASA’s office (just off a 14-hour plane ride from Vietnam, I might add). Student chapter leaders—including Purdue University’s Will Eagan, Vanderbilt University’s Jacquelyn Neal, and The University of Texas-Austin’s Elyas Mercado—helped break the ice and thanked Utts for her thoughtful answers.

With Young Professionals members calling the AMAs a “great opportunity” and “super helpful and inspirational,” the ASA is determined to keep this new feature going. Take a look at our schedule for the next few months:

• January – 2017 ASA President Barry Nussbaum
• February – ASA Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson

Got questions about ASA’s AMAs? Interested in becoming an AMA guest? Contact me (Lara Harmon!)

To keep up to date on upcoming AMAs, watch the Recent Member Blogs column on the ASA Community website, check in on Twitter at @amstatnews and @amstat_lara, or look for announcements in our monthly member newsletter. If you’re a student or early-career member, just make sure you’re signed up for the Young Professionals discussion group to receive timely notes about upcoming discussion group events.