STEM Outreach as a Critical Component of Mentor Success

Facilitators: 

Harim Won, Ph.D. Candidate and NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the Biological Sciences in Public Health Program and Therapeutics Graduate Program at Harvard University. 

Madalyn Won, Ph.D. Candidate in the Biological Sciences in Public Health Program and Therapeutics Graduate Program at Harvard University. 

Abstract: Learning to accessibly teach advanced STEM topics to younger students provides excellent training for undergraduate STEM students and develops the science communication skills which they will use throughout their careers. STEM outreach initiatives such as NE STEM 4U present an opportunity not only for the student populations they serve but also the mentors engaged in the work themselves – that is, such initiatives provide an important societal benefit, complemented by advances in mentors’ own personal development. As trainees who have benefited from this experience, we aim to delineate key practices we feel were critical for helping us get where we are and for enhancing our ability to perform at a high level. We will outline steps undergraduate students should take while mentoring to effectively serve mentees and to prepare them for the next big step in their careers.

Harim is a 3^rd-year Ph.D. Candidate and NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the Biological Sciences in Public Health Program and Therapeutics Graduate Program at Harvard University. His thesis work in Dr. Eric Rubin’s lab focuses on the development of targeted degraders as a therapeutic strategy for the bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He remains actively engaged in STEM outreach work through the Health Professions Recruitment & Exposure Program (HPREP) at Harvard Medical School where he currently serves as a Mentoring Director.

Madalyn is a 4^th-year Ph.D. Candidate in the Biological Sciences in Public Health Program and Therapeutics Graduate Program at Harvard University. Her thesis work in Dr. Barbara Burleigh’s lab focuses on the interactions of the parasitic pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi and its human host cell. Madalyn is also President of the GSAS Harvard Biotechnology Club and is overseeing the development of a national coalition of biotechnology clubs focused on diversity and inclusion outreach initiatives.