Sometimes one small moment or conversation can have a big impact. Take an ordinary “Hey, how’s it going?” virtual chat between BC Senior Scientist Carolyn Roth and another employee that initiated the start of the Professional Parents Employee Network Group (ENG) that Carolyn co-leads. What seemed like an everyday question turned out be anything but, and reinforced the Professional Parent Alliance purpose: To create a community for parents to be heard.

“We had been talking about the pandemic and how parents were dealing with homeschooling at the beginning of COVID versus now. It’s so different,” Carolyn said. “One parent reached out to me who had his ‘first day of school’ and said it was one of the hardest things he had to do. He just needed a place where he could talk about the stress. Other employees used this forum to reach out too and connect as well, the group really opened up.”

That’s when she knew the ENG was onto something special. “Connecting with other parents at BC makes me feel so much less alone when navigating such a huge life change,” she said. In addition to providing a forum for parents, Carolyn said the group is looking into free or low-cost resources such as an online repository of school materials.

While Carolyn’s son is a toddler and not yet in school, the Professional Parent Alliance is a support system with a burgeoning benefit for everyone. For now, she’s putting her environmental science background to use at home in the garden she planted with her son in March, when shelter in place orders first took effect. She’s teaching him all about plants, good bugs, and harvesting the rewards of what happens when you take the time to nurture something and allow it room to grow.

“With the ENGs, BC is truly seeing that its people are more than employees. We are whole people with rich lives, and we do our best work when we are seen and given the space to be ourselves.”