Girls Inc. Virtual STEM Mentoring Application

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* 1. Thank you for your interest in the Eureka! virtual mentoring program. This project is being developed by GWIS and Girls Inc. of Holyoke and is an extension of the Eureka! program launched by Girls Inc. and the College of Natural Sciences. The goal of this project is to strengthen the STEM pipeline for the young women involved in the Eureka! program through online connections with graduate students and professors in the STEM fields. Mentors will utilize blogging, email, and social media platforms maintained by Girls Inc. and GWIS to dialogue with Eureka! participants on topical STEM ideas, and will have the opportunity for occasional in-person meetings with mentees.

This application is mainly for Girls Inc. to get to know you a little better in order to ensure a great fit between mentor and mentees. We believe that this program's success relies on enthusiastic graduate students and professors who want to mentor the next generation of scientists. This survey will help us gauge both your background and availability.

Name:

Email Address:

Phone Number:

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* 2. Why are you interested in being a mentor to the Girls Inc. Eureka! Scholars? Please write no more than five sentences.

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* 3. Have you participated in the Eureka! Program launched in the summer of 2013 by the UMass College of Natural Sciences and Girls Inc. and/or are you a member of the Graduate Women In STEM (GWIS) network?

I am a GWIS member

I participated in a Eureka! training in the spring of 2013

I facilitated a Eureka! workshop in summer/fall 2013

I am both a GWIS member AND participated in a Eureka! workshop in summer/fall 2013

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* 4. Virtual mentors must commit to a minimum of 30 minutes each week online communicating with mentees, and additional time is highly recommended as needed to maximize the experience.

Please briefly outline the range of time you will be able to offer, capturing your availability on both lighter and busier weeks. (For example, "I can commit from 30 minutes to 2 hours each week.")

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* 5. Please choose which of the required, one-time, two hour orientations you will be able to attend:

Friday, February 28th, 2014 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Tuesday, March 4th, 2014 5:30 - 7:30 pm

I cannot attend either training (This will prevent you from participating in our mentoring program this spring, but we will reach out in advance of the fall 2014 training)

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* 6. When it comes to social media, blogs and online communication....

...I am a highly proficent user and regularly use tools like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

...I am confident online, but need some training on blogging and social networking

...I can't tell a tweet from a blog

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* 7. This virtual mentoring program is being designed on the Google platform Blogger. Do you have experience with this platform? Are you interested in taking a lead in the development of the blogs?

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* 8. What kinds of STEM media do you engage with that you might share in a discussion with your Girls Inc. Mentees? Please provide an example.

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* 9. Do you have experience working with middle and high school girls? If so, please describe.

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* 10. Do you have prior experience with group or 1:1 mentoring? If so, please share a bit about that experience.

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* 11. What is your current field of study?

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* 12. What is your academic experience level?

First year graduate student

Second year graduate student

3+ year graduate student

Post Doc

Faculty

Other (please specify)

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* 13. If given the opportunity to time travel, what would you say to the high school version of yourself? What do you wish someone had told you when you were a teenager?