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STEMentorship

Apply Now! The Association for Women in Science - Notre Dame chapter (AWIS) is organizing the 7th annual STEMentorship Program. This program focuses on connecting undergraduate women in STEM fields with graduate students for professional development, networking, and an exchange of ideas with experienced peers. 

Sign ups for the STEMentorship program for the 23-24 academic year are now closed. 

What is STEMentorship?

Women with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers earn on average 30% more than those with non-STEM careers. Consequently, the gender wage gap is significantly smaller in STEM fields. However, women represent approximately quarter of the STEM workforce. Within the STEM workforce, women still experience lower rates of promotion and nearly half report workplace harassement. This complex issue calls for mentoring relationships that support women throughout their academic and professional experiences to provide support to navigate these spaces and encourage change. 

The STEMentorship Program, organized by Association of Women in Science – Notre Dame chapter (AWIS-ND), targets this issue by facilitating mentorship to female students at the University of Notre Dame (UND).  This yearlong initiative fulfills the mission of AWIS-ND to initiate, encourage, and engage participation of women in STEM by pairing female undergraduate students with female graduate student mentors based on individual career aspirations. With the support of the College of Science and the College of Engineering, STEMentorship creates a venue for these students to engage and explore STEM career possibilities. STEMentorship combines the leadership development foundation and the dynamic network of AWIS-ND to create sustainable mentoring relationships. Mentors will guide their mentees through individualized professional development goals. Alongside one-on-one mentoring, the program consists of meet-and-greet, monthly drop-ins and workshops, social activities, and career talks.

What are the Expectations as a Mentor?

Following are guidelines that will help you have a successful mentoring partnership.

  1. Initiate and maintain regular contact
    • Mentors and students should commit to speaking a minimum of once per calendar month during the mentoring cycle (October 2023-May 2024). These connections may occur over email, phone, Zoom, and/or in person when possible. At least one of these should be a face-to-face exchange. Attending STEMentorship events together fulfills this
    • Mentors should take initiative in the relationship, contacting mentees regularly to set up meetings and find out if they need specific help.
    • Mentors are required to record the meeting dates in the program check-in sheet.
  2. Set clear and realistic goals
    • At the start of this mentoring partnership, mentors and mentees should discuss how the partnership should be structured.
    • Concrete goals, roles, responsibilities, and a common schedule will be established in a mentoring partnership agreement.
  3. Individualize your mentorship
    • Be respectful and supportive of your mentee. Get to know your mentee on an individual basis.
    • Listen attentively to your mentee. Raise thought-provoking questions to help your mentee understand and articulate her motivations, accomplishments, weaknesses, etc.
    • Make observations or suggestions, and offer advice on goals and activities that might lead to rewarding professional development opportunities.
    • Share stories about how others made their way in the profession that might be relevant to the mentee.
    • Assist your mentee in finding resources and opportunities suitable to her research and/or career interests (ie. research assistant position, summer scholarship etc.)
    • Introduce and expose your mentee within your own professional circle and to circles outside the university community as relevant.
    • Recognize the work the mentee has done and the progress made.
    • Avoid making judgments or issuing evaluative statements.
    • Work out right away any minor concerns about the relationship.
  4. Be responsive
    • Both mentors and students are expected to return calls and emails in a timely manner (ie. two business days) to each other and the program organizers.
  5. Be confidential
    • Keep the content of discussions within the mentoring relationship confidential. All your exchanges with your mentee--both personal and professional--are subject to the expectations of professional confidentiality. Although this confidentiality is legally limited, neither of you should discuss the contents of your discussions with anyone else without the written permission of the other.
  6. Honor commitments
    • Respect your mentee’s privacy and time commitments. If a mentoring conversation must be cancelled, it is expected that you will do your best to communicate in advance of the meeting and reschedule
  7. Terminate the mentorship
    • Some relationships may end sooner than others and there is any number of different reasons for terminating a mentoring relationship. When the time comes to end your mentoring relationship, it is important to do so in a professional manner to achieve appropriate closure.
    • If termination of your mentoring relationship is desired, participants are required to inform the program organizers.
    • Contact the program organizers for any needed changes.

What are the Expectations as a Mentee?

Following are guidelines that will help you have a successful mentoring partnership.

  1. Maintain Regular Contact
    • Mentors and mentees should commit to speaking a minimum of once per calendar month during the mentoring cycle (October 2023-May 2024). These connections may occur over email, phone, Zoom, and/or in person when possible. At least one of these should be a face-to-face exchange. Attending STEMentorship events together fulfills this. 
  2. Set Clear and Realistic Goals
    • At the start of this mentoring partnership, mentors and mentees should discuss how the partnership should be structured.
    • Concrete goals, roles, responsibilities, and a common schedule will be established in a mentoring partnership agreement.
    • Take advantage of your mentoring relationship
    • Be respectful and courteous to your mentor. Get to know your mentor on an individual basis.
    • Share your career plans and goals with the mentor, and recount your initiatives for professional development.
    • Actively seek for your mentor’s observations and feedback.
    • Reflect on the mentor’s observations.
    • Refrain from asking your mentor for evaluative advice; rather, take advantage of the mentor’s suggestions about resources for feedback and objective evaluation.
  3. Be responsive
    • Both mentors and students are expected to return calls and emails in a timely manner (ie. two business days) to each other and the program organizers.
  4. Be confidential
    • Keep the content of discussions within the mentoring relationship confidential. All exchanges with your mentor--both personal and professional--are subject to the expectations of professional confidentiality. Although this confidentiality is legally limited, you should discuss the contents of your discussions with anyone else without the written permission of your mentor.
  5. Honor commitments
    • Respect your mentor’s privacy and time commitments. If a mentoring conversation must be cancelled, it is expected that you will do your best to communicate in advance of the meeting and reschedule.
  6. Terminate the mentorship
    • Some relationships may end sooner than others and there is any number of different reasons for terminating a mentoring relationship. When the time comes to end your mentoring relationship, it is important to do so in a professional manner to achieve appropriate closure.
    • If termination of your mentoring relationship is desired, participants are required to inform the program organizers.
    •  Contact the program organizers for any needed changes

Meet the Organizers

  • Mika Schievelbein - Mika is a fourth year Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She has served as the STEMentorship Chair for AWIS-ND since 2021. 
  • Lauren Mayer - Lauren is a third year Ph.D. student in the Department of Integrated Biomedical Sciences. She serves on the AWIS bord as a departmental representative and participate's in AWI to encourage women in their STEM career aspirations. 
  • Alison Zachritz - Alison is a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences as a member of Dr. Lamberti's lab. She has been a member of AWIS for three years and hopes to pay-it-forward by mentoring young women as she was mentored and encouraged by women she worked with in industry.

Sponsors

Thank you to the amazing support from the College of Science and the College of Engineering.