Research shows that interaction with female STEM mentors plays an important role in helping girls develop a positive STEM identity that supports interest and persistence within STEM. The Imagine Your STEM Future Program does just that by pairing female engineers from Raytheon and female students and their allies from the University of Arizona with high school students at Desert View High School. Mentors commit to participate in the program for an entire school year, providing the opportunity to build sustained, robust relationships with students. The Imagine Your STEM Future program is integrated into the school day in order to increase accessibility for student participants and takes place 3-4 days per week. The curriculum includes a combination of hands-on STEM activities, reflective group conversations on STEM academic and career pathways, the importance of diversity in science and engineering communities, and visits from inspiring STEM role models. Through implementing the engineering design process, students begin to build STEM skills such as designing, building, and prototyping, but more importantly for this program, learn communication and collaboration skills as they work in small groups. Each element of the program has been chosen based on best practices for maximizing impact on girls’ interest and persistence in STEM. While Imagine Your STEM Future is designed with the interests and experiences of girls in mind, it is open to students regardless of sex or gender.
Please contact Elena Greenberg, Senior Program Coordinator for the Imagine Your STEM Future Program, with any questions:
The Women in Science and Engineering Program (WISE) seeks University of Arizona students to serve as near-peer mentors and outreach educators in the Imagine Your STEM Future Program. The Imagine Your STEM Future Program (IYSF) is a collaboration between WISE and Raytheon focusing on conducting outreach education to high school girls and fostering female-empowerment within the STEM fields. IYSF mentors facilitate STEM lessons between 2-3 days per week in the Sunnyside Unified School District. Each lesson is founded within project-based and hands-on learning while helping high school girls foster a sense of belonging within the STEM fields. Many of the lessons also align with developing self-confidence and connecting girls to role models within higher education and the local industry.
We are currently looking for UArizona students who are passionate about serving as positive female role models within STEM to facilitate the curriculum as part of a semester-long internship. The total time commitment is 5 hours per week and student interns must have availability on Monday, Thursday, and/or Friday between 7am-9am to conduct the outreach education. Students earn $15/hour for their participation in the semester-long internship program.
