inSTEM Impact Report 2021-2022 AY

inSTEM IMPACT REPORT

THE CHALLENGE

H O S T S

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inSTEM PROGRAM inSTEM is a four-year holistic mentorship program for undergraduates from underrepresented groups studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. inSTEM puts a strong emphasis on holistic wellness and centering student needs and is designed to combat this alarmingly high rate of attrition among marginalized students in STEM.

At each institution, carefully selected faculty Coaches lead inSTEM cohorts through a series of education- and careeroriented modules designed to equip Scholars with the skills and confidence necessary to break down the systemic barriers to success in STEM. Each inSTEM meeting features a different STEM expert who speaks to their area of expertise within the program’s curriculum and remains available to the Scholars for continued advice and correspondence following their initial meeting. inSTEM helps students develop strategies that promote mental health and emotional resilience, build a supportive network of fellow scholars and mentors, stimulate their intellectual wellbeing, provide for their strong financial futures, and find the right occupational fit through internships and postgraduate opportunities.

CURRICULUM

Prerna Bhargava inSTEM Mentor MIT “As a mentor, it has been rewarding to talk with the mentees, learn what is on their mind, and provide a perspective from an experience they may not be as familiar with.”

CURRICULUM THEMES

15:1 Scholars to Coach 50+ Mentors

Year 1 - CORE Year 2 - THRIVE Year 3 - RISE Year 4 - SOAR

“Participation in inSTEM has impacted my retention in my STEM major as it reminds me to continue working towards my major. It allows me to see that achieving a STEM major is possible.”

Johany Flores inSTEM Scholar UTA '25

H O W A R D

inSTEM launched in November 2020 with fifteen first-year Scholars at Howard University in Washington, DC. Now, the program has grown to 30 Scholars, and soon in the fall of 2022, Howard will be home to three inSTEM cohorts and 45 Scholars across the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Architecture.

“The NSTMF, through creating and supporting this program, has recognized the need for not only technical talent but also culturally competent and confident personnel to address the many challenges that our nation’s scientific and technical workforce will face.”

Dr. John Harkless, inSTEM Coach Howard University

These Scholars come from a variety of backgrounds: 86% of Scholars are African American or Black, 30% are the first in their families to attend college or university, and 75% identify as female and/or genderqueer. Their major interests range from psychology to sports medicine to physics, math, chemistry, and biology. This coming fall we will be offering inSTEM to students in Howard University’s College of Engineering and Architecture as well as the College of Arts and Sciences and hope to expand the academic interests in our newest cohort.

Over the last two summers, these Scholars have interned and/or conducted research at the following institutions: Verily Life Sciences, Dow Bangladesh, Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy’s PACER Program, California Medical Association, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and more.

“inSTEM’s focus on participation from underrepresented minority populations provides an additional, much-needed emphasis on a critical issue - the need for enhanced diversity support and educational outreach to meeting the growing needs of our population.”

Dr. Kenyatta Dawson, inSTEM Coach UT-Arlington

inSTEM expanded to the University of Texas at Arlington in the fall of 2022 with one cohort of first-year Scholars. 80% of these Scholars identify with more than one underrepresented community.

46% of them are the first in their families to go to college or university, and 60% identify as women and/or genderqueer.

Their academic interests range from biology to many different kinds of engineering, including software, biomedical, and aerospace, to public health.

This summer, Scholars in our UTA cohort are participating in internship and research experiences at the USC Viterbi SURE program, and the IBM Accelerate Program.

In the fall of 2022, the NSTMF is thrilled to be able to continue meeting the needs of its UTA Scholars with not one but two first-year cohorts. The current cohort of first-year Scholars will move on to the second year of the curriculum under the direction of senior faculty coach, Trish Mann.

U T A R L I N G T O N

inSTEM has three objectives for students pursuing undergraduate degrees in STEM: 1. Build a community that prompts students to address the benefits and challenges of being a member of an underrepresented community in stem.

2. Offer professional development for undergraduates seeking experience relevant to their majors.

3. Connect students with mentors on- and off-campus to whom they can turn for guidance.

EVALUATION Mid-year Survey

Mentor-Mentee Meeting Survey Consistent and Constant Communication End-of-year Application Survey

Evaluation is central to the inSTEM program. We use surveys to collect participant feedback to ensure we are meeting our Scholars’ needs and can make any necessary program adjustments. Centering student needs is a core tenet of the inSTEM program, and the NSTMF recognizes that different individuals have different needs that may change over time. By regularly consulting Scholars for feedback, the NSTMF meets the students where they are and offers support in real-time.

EARLY SUCCESS

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Scholars remain in Scholars report Scholars remained Scholars report STEM major regular use of skills in program feeling a greater and strategies sense of belonging in gained through STEM inSTEM

THE inSTEM DIFFERENCE

Numerous interventions have been created at local and national levels to address factors related to the underrepresentation of marginalized groups in STEM fields. The inSTEM program is similar to many of these programs in its incorporation of mentoring, professional skill development, and community building. However, inSTEM differs in a few key ways.

HOLISTIC WELLNESS inSTEM is unique in its emphasis on holistic wellness, encompassing the following aspects of wellness: intellectual, emotional, physical, financial, and professional. The curriculum is engrained with topics related to all five of these elements of wellness, delivering graduates of the program whose well-rounded health contributes to their future success in science and technology. inSTEM’s emphasis on wellness is unique among the existing interventions.

One example of how the program promotes the emotional well-being of Scholars is through the incorporation of breathing exercises. Each inSTEM session begins with a breathing exercise led by the Coach to help students prepare their minds to learn, disconnect from distractions, and be present in the moment. By practicing these breathing techniques, students actively use a proven method to address stress, anxiety, and depression.

GPA While the Meyerhoff program and McNair programs require Scholars to maintain a GPA of 3.0, inSTEM Scholars must maintain a minimum overall GPA of 2.75. Research shows that, “students accepted to programs based on measures of merit are high-achieving students who are likely to succeed in the STEM fields without participation in intervention programs, while students who would likely benefit and may not succeed on their own, [those in this lower GPA range,] are underserved.” The significantly lower GPA requirement for participation in the inSTEM program allows a broader group of students to benefit from the intervention that inSTEM offers and reaches a group of students who would otherwise not have access to these resources.

MENTORSHIP Mentors whose identities and interests match those of their mentees are crucial to confidence-building and STEM success. inSTEM not only incorporates modules on what it means to be a good mentee and facilitates connections between senior mentors (ranging from those just out of undergrad to late-career professionals) but also encourages peer-topeer mentorship. These relationships help Scholars unravel the complicated nuances of studying STEM subjects and navigating post-graduate life.

STUDENT FEEDBACK inSTEM is unique in its fierce commitment to student feedback. inSTEM is, first and foremost, a program for its students. The NSTMF understands that individuals have differing needs and that those needs can change over time. By regularly surveying inSTEM participants for feedback and incorporating that feedback into program improvements, the NSTMF ensures that inSTEM is meeting Scholars where they are and offering the best possible support scaffolding it can at any given time.

INTERN PARTNERS inSTEM is assembling a network of summer internship partners who are committed to antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusion. These partnerships reach a zenith with all-expenses-paid internships specifically reserved for inSTEM Scholars that eliminate the egregious choice marginalized students in STEM often face when it comes to summer opportunities: “further my career or sustain my life.”

“inSTEM has allowed me to connect with the STEM community in ways that I otherwise would not have been able to. For instance, without inSTEM, I would not be able to conduct research through Verily Life Sciences and I am very grateful for that!“ Kayla Cason, inSTEM Scholar HU-24 inSTEM Verily Life Sciences Summer Intern

ADAPTING AND IMPROVING The best program we can create is a program that centers our Scholars' needs and understands, intimately, that success looks different for everyone. To that end, it is our commitment to receiving student feedback and growing the program in a way that meets and exceeds our Scholar community's needs.

“From our first meeting, my mentor was proactive about stating that she cares about our futures and wants to help any way that she can.

I loved hearing about her accomplishments. I told her about my sports medicine dreams and she sent me a list of resources that could help me."

Edelyn Valdez inSTEM Scholar HU-25

MENTORS IN GRAD SCHOOL Including graduate students and/or recent graduates in our mentor community. inSTEM Scholars specifically requested younger Mentors who have more recently experienced the undergraduate pressures and challenges that the Scholars are undergoing. We have recruited several earlier-career and graduate student Mentors (and Coaches) to round out our mentor network and offer a myriad of perspectives to our Scholars.

POD-STYLE MENTORSHIP Scholars requested group mentoring opportunities (where one Mentor speaks with 2-3 Scholars at once) to lower the inherent pressure of meeting with an older, more accomplished individual for the first time.

MATCHING TIMELINE Pairing Scholars with Mentors in the second semester of the first-year. Scholars have demonstrated a desire for a first semester of acclimation and exploration before committing to a Mentor so that their interests can be better matched.

WORKSHOPS Offering supplemental workshops and career panels to allow for informal, off-the-record conversations with professionals at various stages of a particular career of interest, e.g. a medical school panel centered on the decision to go to medical school and the application process

THE FUTURE The NSTMF is interested in bringing inSTEM to a variety of different schools including predominantly white institutions (PWIs) where students from marginalized communities may be in greater need of the additional support the inSTEM program provides, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions (MSIs), as well as two-year and junior colleges where students often struggle to find community on campus and role models who can help them through a transition to a four-year college.

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By 2030, the NSTMF will have empowered close to 1000 individuals to grow as people and professionals within the STEM community. In that time, the inSTEM program will have been a key factor in changing the way the STEM community evaluates talent, builds inclusive spaces, and delivers on a more equitable future.

Without the dedicated support of our donors, the NSTMF would not have been able to accomplish all that we have in the past two years, nor imagine a future as bright. We would like to say a special thank you to all of our inSTEM supporters for their belief in and dedication to our work:

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

HOSTS

COACHES Kenyatta Dawson Patricia Mann John Harkless Dinari Harris

inSTEM ADVISORY COUNCIL Megan Roberts - Chair Emmanuel Johnson

Sonya Smith Yuvi Ratigan

Valene Garr Barry