As part of the Industry Mentorship Program, Laura Haas (pictured above, left), the Dean of the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences, was a mentor to Mariem Snoussi (pictured above, right), a Junior at Smith College majoring in Computer Science.
The Industry Mentorship Program (IMP) is curated by the UMass Amherst REBLS network of the Institute of the Diversity Sciences. The program is made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Institute of Diversity Sciences. The objective of the STEM Focused Industry Mentorship Program is to increase Student Persistence and Increase Diversity in Recruitment. The program pairs STEM students with industry mentors, belonging in STEM themselves, to offer career and professional guidance, establish STEM Identities for students and to support students as they navigate their next steps toward industry. The program focuses on building a mentor-mentee relationship and provide new/novice mentees a practical knowledge on preparing for the industry such as preparing for an interview, resume writing, effective communication and building a personal brand.
In 2022, we are looking forward to offering mentorship once again through the IMP. Our next session is a 12-week session and will open on June 1 and last till August 26th. The mentees space is limited, and we will select and pair mentee to mentors on a first come, first served basis, regardless of their gender, race, or background. The Industry Mentorship Program directly supports the REBLS goal of increasing diversity in STEM and can be used to provide a scalable model for students in the future using industry best practices to build a structure.
If you are interested in volunteering your time to become a mentor or would like to join us as a mentee, please fill out the below form. The deadline for submitting the form is May 15th, 2022. We encourage sharing the program details with your community as well.
During 2021, we successfully hosted two 12-week mentorship sessions. Our mentors generously volunteer their time to mentor STEM students. Last year, our mentors were from companies such as IBM, Hale Health, Dell EMC, Google, Thermo Fisher, Lightforge Games, and MathWorks. Our mentors from academia were from UMass Amherst who are Academic Deans and Senior Lecturers with the university. Last year, our student mentees were from various colleges and universities such as UMass, Smith college, and Mount Holyoke College. Our mentees came from diverse demographics: 70% female, 56% Asian, 28% White and 15% African American and Hispanic students; 20% of these participants were first generation college students.
In a post-program survey, students said the mentorship helped them meet their personal and professional goals. These goals included:
- Receiving guidance on perfecting job applications and preparing for interviews
- Gaining interpersonal and communication skills
- Building an identity in the STEM field
- Getting advice on the transition from college to industry
- Improving technical knowledge
One student testified that their mentor helped them to “land internships and better understand what grad school would be like.” Another said her mentor “offered a lot of advice and tips on how to approach interviews, deal with imposter syndrome, and search for a job.”
To learn more about REBLS seed grants see our Request for Proposals.
To learn more about the project, reach out to facilitators below.
