A new student run organization at the University of Georgia seeks to increase the retention rate of women in STEM disciplines. Women in Science, or WiSci, will match women undergraduate students in STEM fields with graduate student mentors in the same or similar fields.
The founding president of the organization, Cecilia Sanchez, a first-year doctoral student in the university’s Odum School of Ecology, was involved in a similar program when she was an undergraduate student at Yale University and wanted to replicate the program at the University of Georgia. “It was hugely helpful having someone who had that experience offering advice on things like applying to graduate school and writing my application for a National Science Foundation fellowship,” Sanchez said.
In addition to forming mentoring relationships, WiSci will hold monthly meeting on relevant topics. There will also be career development and networking events held several times each year.