Associate Professor Dr. Steven Cohen recently gave the keynote address at the URI Graduate Student Conference on March 27.   This year’s conference theme was Many Paths, One Purpose: Researching for a Better Future. The keynote address was the first event of the two-day conference where graduate students from across URI shared their research and artistic work, heard from experts in the field, and were welcomed by President Parlange.  

In his address, “Pivots, Pitstops, and Potholes: Navigating the Windy Road through Graduate Education in Public Health,” Dr. Cohen spoke about his own graduate school experience, emphasizing the need to learn from all experience you have, both positive and negative. He offered some advice to the graduate attendees, including learning from setbacks, taking advice from mentors who have your best interests in mind, and advocating for your own professional growth and development throughout your graduate training and in your career.  

Dr. Cohen concluded the address by encouraging graduate students not to try to be the best at everything. Instead, graduate students should not be afraid to go out of their comfort zone to  seek out collaborators and mentors with complementary skills that will help them advance their careers. He also highlighted some of his own work on social determinants of health and aging and encouraged the graduate students in attendance to seek out work that is not just impactful, but also meaningful and motivational.