Nebraska Women in STEM spoke to Dr. Erin Gross, chemistry faculty member from Creighton University, about her career journey and her passion for empowering students on their paths to a career in STEM.
This year, Dr. Erin Gross will celebrate 20 years as a chemistry faculty member at her alma mater, Creighton University. While academia was not always her aspiration, STEM was, and her knack for teaching was evident throughout her time in school and the chemistry industry.
Having excelled in math and English classes in high school, Gross signed up for similar college courses. After taking chemistry in her sophomore year at Creighton, Gross realized she preferred experimenting in a lab over sitting at a desk doing calculations. “Chemistry was a way to apply math,” Gross said. “You’re in the lab, you stay busy — I like being on my feet and staying busy during the day.”
Settling on chemistry as her career, Gross began applying to various doctorate programs during her senior year of undergraduate study. Ultimately, she continued her education at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill.
“Undergrad [is] figuring out what you want to do, and then you go on to grad school, and it’s a new challenge,” Gross said. “Classes are harder, you’re TA-ing [Teaching Assistant], you’re teaching, you’re doing research … In grad school, you’re sort of teaching yourself how to learn more and how to figure things out.”
While Gross was balancing all her graduate school responsibilities, she was simultaneously planning a wedding! After she and her husband graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, they accepted industry jobs in North Carolina.
Working in an industrial setting further exposed Gross to the world of teaching. “When I worked in industry, I had a lot of younger chemists reporting to me, did a lot of training people, and that was probably the favorite part of my job,” Gross said. “So, that’s how I knew I wanted to kind of switch careers and teach.”
In 2004, three years into their industry jobs, Gross and her husband were contacted by Creighton University and invited to apply to the institution. Familiar with the school, cordial with the staff, and passionate about mentoring others, the Grosses decided to apply and subsequently received faculty positions.
Gross found academia to be vastly different than industry but was grateful to have experienced both. “I think it’s a benefit to have industrial experience, and even just in general in chemistry, I get a lot of students that want to go work in industry, and they’ll come talk to me about my experience, so I’m glad I had it,” Gross said.
Interactions of that nature with students are Gross’s favorite part of being a professor. “It’s just kind of exciting to prepare them for what they want to do, help them get to achieve their goals,” she said.
Gross uses her position to empower women in chemistry. “It still happens, where I’ll talk to young girls or see people if I’m reviewing scholarship applications or anything like that, that there still are girls that are maybe dissuaded from going into STEM, which people think a lot of that has gone away,” she said.
“It’s good to work with them and give them the confidence that they can do STEM, work in the STEM field if they want, and present their research and be successful,” Gross said.
As a chemistry student and faculty member, Gross always found that men outnumbered her and her female colleagues. She noticed that the ratio of women and men in Creighton’s chemistry majors fluctuates from equal to male-dominated. Contrastingly, Creighton’s STEM departments have seen a rise in female faculty members in recent years. “Still not fifty-fifty,” Gross said.
For women entering careers in STEM, Gross recommends finding a good network of support – especially consisting of other women. “[And] when you eventually have a partner,” she said, “make sure they’re supportive, too, and when you have kids, you’re a team.”
Gross has found that being a mother in academia has its perks. “I think once you have a baby, have a kid, you get a lot more efficient,” Gross said. “Now, I make lists and have a schedule and definitely have better time management skills. But it’s a balancing act.”
As a fellow Creighton faculty member, Gross’s husband is considerate of her unusual schedule. “We each understand if you have to sit and grade all night, or we understand, you know, I’m not purposely ignoring everyone; I just have to get my tests graded!” Gross said.
This brings Gross back to the importance of having a network of support. To build such a network for others, Gross and Nikae Perkinson, a faculty member from the University of Nebraska Omaha, began a Women Chemists Committee earlier this year.
“Different people wanted different things out of it. Some wanted speakers, some want just a social – just meet other women, some want to network,” Gross said.
In the future, the committee anticipates bringing members outdoors to embark on a hike, attending Nebraska Women in STEM events, and hosting a mixer with Omaha’s Younger Chemists Committee. Gross hopes women will find comfort and belonging in the committee.
“I think, as a woman, you’re always wanting to take care of people, but make sure to take care of yourself and do things for you,” Gross said. “Whether you’re early career or mid-career, just keep doing things for you.”