Science Club for Girls (SCFG) is looking for some inspiring mentors to guide eager young women through our STEM Internship Program. Our goal is to expand the program, piloted last year with support from the Massachusetts Life Science Center. You can make this a reality.
If you want to energize your lab or company, have projects that are accessible, and are excited about diversifying the STEM landscape, please read on!
The STEM Internship Program is an opportunity for young women, primarily from traditionally underrepresented economic and racial groups, to gain authentic, hands-on experience with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and increase their confidence and sense of self.
Started in 2012, the program broadens participation by matching 16- to 18-year-old young women with mentors in academic and industry settings to complete capstone projects. In our first year, we placed six students in internships at Boston University, Harvard University, and Aurora Flight Sciences, where they completed projects ranging from genetics to behavioral biology toengineering. At the end of their internships, 100 percent of participants reported that their relationships with their mentors and participation in the program helped them develop strong lab skills, more confidence in a lab setting and in their science abilities.
We ask internship mentors to make the following commitments:
- > Devote 5-6 hours per week from October to May. This includes 3 hours of supervision when the intern is on site, and ~2 hours of prep.
- > Provide background reading material.
- > Complete a 45-minute online training to better understand SCFG and our philosophy.
- > Attend a 2-hour Mentor Training in September so you know how to work with teens.
- > Attend an optional event during the year to cheer your intern on.
- > Hold monthly 15-20 minute phone check-ins and agree to site visits by our Internship Program Manager once a semester, so we can troubleshoot and adjust if necessary.
- > Attend the year-end showcase event in May to celebrate.
SCFG provides STEM interns with support and training at bi-monthly workshops that cover essential college readiness, career building, and professional skills. With guidance from SCFG and internship mentors, STEM interns will complete capstone projects, which they present at the Cambridge Science Festival Science Carnival and SCFG’s annual teen showcase, CELLSebration, in May.
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