WISE Pivots in Response to COVID-19

As students left camps due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WISE staff and students quickly pivoted to ensure that we could continue to support students remotely.  Our Girls Who Code facilitators have been offering online classes for participants to ensure they can continue building their coding skills and learning about women in tech. The Bio/Diversity Project interns have continued to develop new lessons that link issues of environmental protection with diversity and inclusion. We hope to be able to implement these lessons in K-12 partner schools in the fall.  And the Women in STEM Student Council transitioned their monthly discussion series to be held remotely via Zoom. They invited a mental health counselor to facilitate a discussion about building community and grappling with mental health challenges during these difficult times.  In addition to pivoting programming, we've been listening to student concerns and challenges in order to develop a survey to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting STEM students, particularly those from underrepresented groups. We hope to use knowledge gained to inform campus conversations about how we can best support STEM students and mitigate the negative impacts of this public health crisis.  Special thanks go out to WISE staff and students for demonstrating exceptional adaptability and flexibility during this challenging time.