Hollie Siebler, Ph.D., was the 2016 recipient of the Praesto Award, given to the most outstanding or exceptional graduate for the academic year, during the Graduate Studies Honors Convocation Ceremony in May.
Dr. Siebler, who studied cancer research under Youri Pavlov, Ph.D., at the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, is now an assistant professor at Creighton University, a role that she said her UNMC training had prepared her for “a ridiculous amount.”
Calling Dr. Pavlov the single most important person to her academic success, Dr. Siebler said he let her attempt experiences outside the lab that led to the Praesto honor.
“I think (the award) is about a lot more than being the best or the most exceptional,” she said. “It makes a statement as to how well-rounded a student is. There are students who had more publications than me, who did more research than me, but they didn’t do a lot of other things, such as service or leadership. I think the award really attests to trying different things and being willing to give more than just what’s expected.”
While committed to research, Dr. Siebler would check her CV each year to “decide what was missing,” she said.
“One year I thought, ‘Well, I don’t have very much leadership experience, maybe I should try that.’ But once a student gets one leadership position at UNMC, it opens you to a lot of other positions, and I think what prepared me most for coming to Creighton was the leadership experience.”
Dr. Pavlov also let Dr. Siebler take time to teach classes at UNO, broadening her experience in a tight academic job market.
“As a mentor, he’s exceptional,” she said. “He mentors each student completely differently, based on what type of person that student is. For me, he was extremely supportive any time that I wanted to get a leadership position, or any time that I took a day or two out of the lab and volunteer to teach.”
That’s an attitude Dr. Siebler would recommend to other mentors at UNMC.
“I don’t think all the professors realize how much better the students are at research after having had these other roles,” she said. “It’s important for mentors to be supportive of their students becoming well-rounded, especially because the job market doesn’t have a lot of positions for strictly research professors. They’re going to need those other skills.”
For students, Dr. Siebler advises them to become informed about opportunities and “less shy” about attempting new things.
“I was terrified of getting a leadership position — I got one as my resume booster,” she said. “But now I feel like I can take on anyone or anything.
“It surprised me. I thought, as a new student, that some people were leadership people and some people were not, and I was not. But you can definitely learn as a graduate student to become a leader if you really want to.”