Mentorship Program

Nervous and excited about life at Mines? Become a SWE mentee!

• Join a community of women at Mines who are excited to help you
• Establish valuable connections with junior and senior SWE members to create a support network early in your college career
• Get the inside scoop on Mines (and your major) from someone who has been in your shoes
• Take advantage of resources to help you adjust and thrive at Mines!

If you have any questions about the program, connect with our current Mentorship Director, Gemma Ponce: gemmagponce@mines.edu.

Goals/Objectives

This programs aims to:

• Provide a setting for women at Mines to feel comfortable with their peers, creating a sense of belonging.
• Find solutions to challenges facing women in STEM, such as impostor syndrome, lack of self-assurance (confidence to be assertive), and feelings of isolation.
• Create a community of women at Mines who are eager to help incoming women, and attract more women to Mines.
• Strengthen SWE as an organization by providing an outlet for more members to get involved in ways that relate to and benefit them, ultimately resulting in increased persistence and retention.
• Benefit incoming students by providing them with the opportunity to establish connections and learn from junior and senior SWE members in their major through advice sharing and guidance.

Pairing Methods

• The number of mentors/mentees pairs varies on major. Generally, 2-3 mentees per mentor.
• Pairings are based primarily on intended major, then narrowed using other noted interests from the mentee sign-up form.
• There is no pressure for a mentee to remain in a group if they decide to switch majors. Their mentor and the Vice President of Member Services will be happy to help find the mentee a new group.

Pairing & Logistics Timeline

For Mentors:

• Application emailed to all current SWE members one month before school begins.
• Applications must be submitted by the first day of the fall semester.
• Training about the program, featuring presentations from the Counseling Center and Title IX Office, occurs within the first 2 weeks of the fall semester.

For Mentees:

• Sign-up form emailed 2 weeks before first day of the fall semester to all incoming freshmen, transfer, and sophomore students.
• Sign-up closes at the end of the second week of the fall semester.

Once all sign-ups have been received, SWE’s Executive Board will assign groups. Pairings are announced during the mentoring kick-off event, ~ second week of September

Activities

Check out our Social Media to keep up to date on all of our events!