Jocelyn Poste '23 endures a lightning storm in Boston's Museum of Science
Just weeks after Commencement, as most of her classmates were starting office jobs and grad school, Jocelyn Poste ’23 was climbing into a nine-foot metal cage to endure a lightning storm.
“I sit in there and people hope for the best for me,” said Poste, a Youth Programs educator at Boston’s Museum of Science. “It’s safe, I promise.”
The demonstration shows that electricity goes through the cage, not the person, much as a lightning strike travels through the body of a car without harming the occupants.
Poste is at the museum with support from a two-year fellowship from the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation. She was one of seven selected nationally for the prestigious leadership development positions. Schwarz fellows receive salaries and benefits to work at leading nonprofits in Boston, New York City and Philadelphia.
Growing up in nearby Chelsea, Mass., Poste had visited the museum numerous times, including two overnight stays.
Jocelyn Poste '23
At Union, Poste was an interdepartmental major in biology and anthropology. A Posse Scholar, she also served as a resident advisor for three years, on the board of the Latinx and African dance clubs, and as a first-gen pre-orientation leader. She was also active as a student leader in the Intercultural Programs Office.
As a “behind-the-scenes” employee at the museum, Poste is ready to take on a myriad of duties. She hosts workshops on college and career readiness for the museum’s two dozen high school interns. She is training to be a presenter at the museum’s live animal shows (with ferrets, birds, chinchillas, and skunks). And she was the featured “cage assistant” in the “Symphony of Orchestras,” the grand finale of the popular Theater of Electricity.
The experience is nurturing Poste’s career aspirations. “The museum is a good start to bring
together my love for science and my love for education,” she said. “I meet so many people at the
museum who have pursued different paths.”