January is known as Mentoring Month. Behind every successful person, there is often someone who helps to motivate and guide them through their career and life. These are our mentors. Let’s hear advice on how you as a student can mentor other women in STEM!
“How have you mentored others? How can a person, as a student, support women in STEM?”
Danielle Schroeder EIT, ENV SP
Drexel University, M.S. in Civil Engineering
Bridge Engineer, Pennoni
I have mentored many students and young professionals throughout the years. Mentoring can take many forms. You could mentor someone for many years as they progress through their collegiate education. You could help someone troubleshoot a specific problem and brainstorm solutions together. You could also simply share what you know and have learned through your experiences. Currently, I have several mentees that I help with resume updates, interview preparation, and many other topics! In 2019, I started a blog and associated social media as DaniTheEngineer to further expand my reach and share my journey as a student studying engineering and now as a young professional. Regardless of what year you are in high school, you can mentor others by sharing what you have learned which can help others on their journey, especially fellow women in STEM. For example, if you are a senior in high school, you can mentor fellow students by talking about how you decided on what STEM field you plan to study in college!
Vimala Satish
Kuvempu University, Karnataka, India, MSc (IT) in Information Technology
Product Support Specialist, IBM
As a mentor, I help my mentees build a good network, by connecting them and encouraging collaboration with other teams. Whenever I come across opportunities for them to take up a new org initiative I encourage them to do so. I’ve invited them to participate in the workshops and knowledge sharing sessions. As a student, you first engage yourself with STEM activities which will inspire your friends and junior students. We normally host many events to share and encourage our other skills like arts, dance, and music. Similarly, you can hold weekly/monthly/quarterly/yearly STEM related events like science experiments or hackathons. You can start with a circle of girlfriends, teammates, or sisters and then expand the network and introduce them into STEM active groups.
Kristine Loh
PhD Student in Chemical Engineering, University of Minnesota. M.S. in
Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University
Share your own struggle with your mentees! From handling tough classes to impostor syndrome, a lot of times, it feels like we’re alone in our fight. Sharing your story lets your mentees know that they’re not alone and that overcoming the struggle is possible.
Related Content:
- SWEet Wisdom: How do Mentors Make a Difference?
- SWEet Wisdom: What Influenced You Towards Engineering?
- SWEet Wisdom October 2020
