I've had the opportunities to develop the following skill sets through various professional roles:· Problem-solving: As chair of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference at URI, I identified and addressed gaps in the event's traditional programming. By widening the selection criteria, we included innovative projects that reflected cutting-edge humanities trends, such as documentary screenings and creative fiction and non-fiction writing panels, which increased presenter participation by 42.8% between 2018 and 2019.· Leadership: Throughout my academic career, I’ve actively sought opportunities to serve both within and beyond the Ivory Tower. In Fall 2019, I initiated a conversation with the principal of a local high school about “Maker’s Space,” a program I designed to expose students to prescient issues such as the ethics of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. As a result, I piloted a six-week workshop working with high school juniors and seniors, spending 5-8 hours per week visiting classrooms, creating sign-up sheets, and organizing after-school discussions.· Teamwork: During Spring 2019, I collaborated with a distinguished computer scientist at URI to expand their vision for developing a CS course into a General Education offering. We re-designed the course syllabus to attract a wide range of majors and held meetings with faculty who expressed interest in the course. The faculty I consulted with represented various departments with competing interests due to their training and departmental infrastructure. I synthesized the needs and desires of each faculty member and spent 10-12 hours each week designing the course proposal.· Passion: As a first-generation college student, I have sought to create opportunities that have a direct and sustainable impact on diverse populations. For example, as an undergraduate, I established an organization to address the education and achievement gap in the U.S. More recently, as an invited speaker at the University of Connecticut, I advised graduate students from underrepresented groups on writing personal statements for coveted fellowships such as the Fulbright and National Science Foundation programs.Please visit my website for more information about my academic research and teaching: https://williamrbowden.wordpress.com/