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

The Mentorship Director organizes ~6 large events each semester covering relevant topics. Attendance is strongly encouraged.
Sample of topics:
    • Career Fair/networking
    • Registration
    • Sophomore year housing options
    • Tips for academic success & confidence
    • Communication & teamwork
    • General community building
    • Empowering others

Evaluation and Improvement

The mentorship program is designed to benefit all participants. The leadership team routinely solicits feedback to improve the program. This is done via surveys once a semester: one to mentors and one to mentees.

 

 

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