I spent the week in New York City to celebrate the L’Oreal USA for Women in Science Fellowship and for professional development, which included discussions about publishing, cover letter writing for scientific publications, getting a job in academia, funding at the NSF and NIH and other important funding sources for young investigators. Finding new and creative funding sources was a hot topic, including industry partnerships, crowd-sourcing and state government agencies. It was an honor to briefly get to know these talented women. A telling moment was the first night: after all of our hosts had departed, the 5 of us stayed for another hour or two sharing our research and personal experiences.