Climber Crush Wednesday featuring Melise Edwards

Happy Climber Crush Wednesday! #LCCxCCW. Today we are featuring Mélise Edwards aka @meliseymo: a rock climber, PhD student who is studying neuroscience, and Founder of @musementorship! Let’s jump right in!

1. What are your pronouns?
   She/her/hers

2. What would you like to share about yourself.
   I am a PhD student studying neuroscience, specifically how sex hormones modulate behavior and cognitive performance. I have been a rock-climber for nearly 12 years and used to compete in the southeast and northwest. Now I enjoy climbing for fun when I have time and organizing local events for women and non-binary climbers.

3. You're brave and not afraid to share your thoughts on Instagram. How do you find the confidence to speak out?
   Confidence comes from repetition. It can initially be a fearful experience to stand up for what you believe in, but over time and with years of consistent practice (both online and in person) it becomes easier. I cannot imagine living any other way now. Silence is a terrible burden for underrepresented people. Many people are afraid to speak out for many reasons. It can be challenging to fear judgement or push back and exhausting to engage in dialogue with people who have very different, myopic perspectives. I think if anyone is interested in speaking up, please do not wait for the “right time” because it will never come. It is never convenient to speak out, but we need more people to educate themselves and be vocal and outspoken (and amplify the voices of underrepresented people in our communities.)

4. What gravitated you towards neuroscience?
   I gravitated towards science because of the incredible perspective one can have knowing such intricate details about evolution, genetics, biology and ecology. I gravitated to neuroscience wanting to combine my love for evolution, molecular biology, behavior and how the brain works. I love thinking methodically, asking questions and seeking the answers to those questions with experimentation. Anyone who has a curious mind, loves to learn and enjoys asking questions would be an excellent scientist!

5. You're the founder of M.U.S.E. Mentorship. How is that going?
   MUSE stands for Mentor ship for Underrepresented STEM Enthusiasts and hopes to provide representation and mentor ship to underrepresented students in STEM fields. We hope to provide mentor ship for high school students applying to college or undergraduate students applying to graduate school. Right now we are working on getting the word out and becoming a nonprofit. In the near future, we would like to offer scholarships to underrepresented students as well. It is extremely difficult to manage this with graduate school full time and side jobs, but I am so excited to have an amazing Board of Directors who are passionate about mentor ship and working together to make something amazing happen.

6. How do you balance training/climbing, the mentor ship, school, and life?! Time management!
   Everything is programmed in my calendar and I make a daily list of priorities and deadlines that need my attention first. I also make sure that self-care and my health are priorities any given day. This includes being selective about who I surround myself with and what tasks I take on, saying no as often as I can and making time for things I care about (my partner, dog, friends, exercise, climbing, etc.) I find that I am a lot more productive and joyful when I let myself have a life outside of work and school. To be fair, I am not training for climbing right now. Climbing has been a fun complement to my PhD. In the spring or summer this might change, but for now I am happy climbing for fun and not training intensively.

7. You're studying about estrogen, aging, and cognition. We're wondering: does the female cycle affect their athletic performance since the level of estrogen changes?
   This is really a complex question that is a bit beyond the scope of my work. In short, the answer is yes; there are physiological changes that occur during menstruation that may impact performance. However, this depends on the person (many women are impacted in very different ways by their period) the time of year (due to changes in thermo-regulation), the mental and physical demands of an exercise or athletic pursuit, etc. I can speak for myself and share that climbing and running can be extremely challenging while on my period. I typically try to take it easier on my body during this time, even though I have had the occasional successes on climbs on my period.

8. What are other topics you really enjoy learning in neuroscience?
   I enjoy learning about cellular and developmental neuroscience, primate behavior, behavioral circuits, neurodegenerative diseases and tauopathies, and endless topics within the field of neuroendocrinology.

9. Tell us about your Frenchie, Rupi!
   Rupi is my world. She’s the funniest dog ever and loves every human, dog and/or creature on the planet. She loves to go on climbing trips, hiking, running and will play fetch until the cows come home. She has been amazing in graduate school as she keeps me on a schedule and we go on walks every day regardless of how busy I am.

10. What are some last thoughts you'd like to share with the climbing community?
    We desperately need to understand that although our experiences inform our views of any given community, this does not serve as the reality for every single person in that community. If you are a cis, heterosexual, thin, able bodied, white (or white passing) man or woman, your views may be that the climbing community is fun, accessible and accepting. This should not suggest to you that every person has had this experience or feels the same way. Knowing this and contextualizing climbing within the history of the US, we can think more critically about who has always had access to climbing (indoors and outside,) what it takes to access these spaces today, who might feel most comfortable given the homogeneous population of climbers and what barriers might exist for people that prevent people from having your same experience. Looking at the financial costs alone, climbing outside takes a vehicle (which requires disposable income to pay for a vehicle in cash or monthly car payments), a geographic location suitable for easily accessing the mountains, disposable income for gas, food and incredibly expensive climbing gear, etc. Most Americans could not afford a hobby like rock-climbing. It becomes even more complicated when we think about race, gender, sexuality, disability, etc and who has historically been banned from opportunity and equality. Also, it is of utmost importance to recognize that we exist on stolen land; we do not have some inherent right to this land which was forcefully taken from Indigenous people. We continue to erase Indigenous people when we forget that this land is theirs, they are still here and deserve to be respected, paid and recognized. All of these things are lost when we focus only on ourselves and seek to “just go climb.” Not everyone has that privilege; a privilege stemming from intentional or unintentional ignorance.

    For indigenous women to follow and pay:

    @indigenouswomxnclimb

    @indigenouswomenhike

    @jolievarela

    @erynne.michelle

    @queernature

    @montse

    @naturechola

    @sangretaino
    
    For Black, Trans, Non-Binary and Disabled climbers to follow and pay:

    @bleavitt8

    @teresabaker11

    @felinefavia

    @amaze_me_grace

    @wildginaa

    @she_colorsnature

    @jitterbug_art

    @jake_assemblyrequired

    @beastfingersclimbing

    @transending7

    @laura.edmondson

    @gabbyplainandsmall

    @nikkik-smith

    @vasu_sojitra

    @adyclimbs

    @sabrinachapman80

    @mynameisbam

    @tayloredfitcoach

    @browngirlsclimbing1

    @nibblekit
    
    And so many others. Diversify your news feed and perspectives.