Mentoring Events
Who We Are
What We Do
Previous Years Programs
Call for Mentors
Welcome to Protégé
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Background
In 1991, AWIS Palo Alto initiated a one-on-one mentoring program to build relationships between professional women scientists in the Bay Area and women graduate students of science and engineerring at Stanford University. AWIS Palo Alto was also one of twelve local chapters nationwide which received funding from National AWIS to support mentoring programs under the auspices of a three year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) (see July/August 1997 issue of AWIS magazine, "Creating Tomorrow's Scientists: Models of Community Mentoring"). In more recent years, the mentoring program has continued with funding support from corporate donors as well as the volunteer efforts of the the mentoring committee and our many volunteer mentors. At this time, the mentoring program reaches out to close to 10% of the women graduate sutdents in science and enginneering at Stanford. The mentoring committee believes that by sharing our time, our experiences, and our friendship in mentoring the young women graduate students of today, we will be assisting the creation of the scientific leaders of tomorrow.
'02-'03 Program Recap
The kick-off meeting in October featured an 'Introduction to Mentors'. Each mentor was introduced to the student protégés at the meeting, and following that, there were small group discussions. There was friendly, informal networking and roundtable discussion. By mutual agreement, some protégé-mentor pairs formed at the end of this meeting.
The second Mentoring meeting was November 13, and featured group discussions with prospective mentors and protégés who paired in October. For those who missed the first meeting or were not paired then, this was an opportunity to start a new mentoring relationship. We talked about how to structure a mentoring relationship, with each arrangement being flexible, tailored to the student's needs and the mentor's experience.
The third meeting, on January 21, featured career counselors Bonnie Goodman and Libby Panwitt, presenting a workshop on "How values impact your work choices". Participants had the opportunity to do a hands-on exercise to gain insight into personal values systems, understand how core values can help focus their career decisions, and learn tools to help assess whether they will "fit" a given company or academic culture.
The fourth meeting took place on May 22, and featured a panel of speakers talking about career and life transitions. The panel included Christine Jesser, the new Palo Alto chapter Treasurer, who works for the Santa Clara County Public Health Department; Susan Holmes, Associate Professor in the Stanford Statistics Department; Miriam Goodman, Assistant Professor in the Stanford Cellular and Molecular Physiology Department; and Beth Hill, of ALZA Therapeutics. Each panelist introduced herself and briefly described her career path, highlighting the transitions. Several topics were covered by the panel, including: transitioning from grad school to post-doc; transitioning from post-doc to industry; advancing in your career by staying open, being flexible, and growing; changing jobs and changing roles; fitting together family and work; and other questions from the audience.
'01-'02 Program Recap
The kick-off meeting in October, featured an 'Introduction to Mentoring'. Mentors were introduced to the student protégés at the meeting, and following that, there was a 30-minute seminar on 'Defining Mentoring Relationships' by a guest speaker. After the talk there was be time for friendly, informal networking and roundtable discussion. By mutual agreement, some protégé-mentor pairs formed at the end of this meeting. The second Mentoring meeting was in November in the Hartley Conference Room in Mitchell Earth Science Building. The program for the second meeting was on 'Making a Match: Mentor-Protégé Pairs', and it provided practical coaching on how to define and discuss your mentoring relationship needs. The third meeting was an alternative career panel and at the fourth and final meeting, Ms Syndi Seid talked on 'Business Etiquette' especially as it relates to the job-hunt. She gave hints and tips on email and voicemail etiquette, ttold you how to put your best foot forward in an interview, and other soft skills that employers are looking for but don't advertise. Things you need to know to succeed!
In addition, several mentor wine and cheese socials were held.
'00-'01 Program Recap
Mentoring Committee planned three meetings for the academic year '00-'01. All were held on the Stanford campus, from 7p-9p, in Mitchell Hall (Earth Science).
The kick-off meeting in November, was a 'Spotlight on Mentoring - Be A Star in a Supporting Role'. A tasty hot dinner was served and an RSVPwas required. Mentors were introduced to the student protégés and during a friendly informal networking roundtable, by mutual agreement, pairs were formed and agreed to work together.
The second Mentoring meeting was on January 15th from 7-9p at Hartley Conference Room in Mitchell Earth Science Building. The speaker was Martha McKee, Ombudsperson at Stanford. She spoke about 'Communication Styles and Conflict Resolution' - and led a discussion. >
The third meeting in June was a panel on alternative careers and a wrap-up meeting in which the committee presented a review of the program, assessed our successes and strengths, identified things we could improve, and recruited volunteers for the next year.
'99-'00 Program Recap
A. Four evening dinner/speaker events (held at Stanford University), with the following topics:
1. Building Mentoring Relationships
2. Introductions - Meet your Mentor/Protégé and Fellow Program Participants
3. The Rosalind Franklin Story (speaker: Lynne Elkin, CSU Hayward)
4. Issues of Authorship
B. Three on-campus lunch meetings for grad student networking
'98-'99 Program Recap
1. October 1998
"Building Mentoring Relationships" Round table discussions of questions on building mentoring relationships This ice-breaker event provided opportunitites for future mentors and protégés to meet each other informally.
2. November 1998
"Introduction of Mentor-Protégé Pairs" Formal introduction of all the mentoring program participants, with each participant presenting a brief verbal description of herself and what she seeks to accomplish/learn through participation in the mentoring program.
3. February 1999
"Communicating with Authority" Workshop presented by Doree Allen, Ph.D, Lecturer at Stanford's Center for Teaching and Learning Dr. Allen's presentation focused on the issues of voice and silence, which included a discussion of how women use tone and their voice as well as the non-verbal cues which affect the delivery of their messages. She also spoke on the dynamics of silencing and being silenced, particularly in situations surrounding scientific interactions.
4. March 1999
"Women of the Manhattan Project" Slide presentation with Mary Singleton from LLNL (Lawrence Livermore National Labs) and historical perspective by Ellen Weaver, Ph.D and Harry Weaver, Ph.D, who were both part of the Manhattan Project at Oakridge National Labs. This slide presentation was supported by the American Chemical Society as a means for addressing and affirming the role women played in the wartime development of the atomic bomb.
5. April 1999
"Asking Different Questions: Women in Science" One hour film documentary from the National Film Board of Canada followed by discussion. This video explored the role of contemporary women in science from environmental and feminist perspectives by focusing on the careers of five women from across the world.
6. May 1999
"Balancing Work and Family" Speaker panel with Rona Giffard, M.D. Ph.D., Associate Professor, Stanford University, Tina Settineri, Ph.D., Product Applications Specialist, Perkin Elmer and Xi Zhao-Wilson, Ph.D., CEO, InCell, Inc. The panelists each provided a brief synopsis of her own scientific career, her children, and the role of her spouse in managing work and family issues; this was followed by a lively question and answer session.
7-9. Various Dates
Graduate Student lunches at Stanford in November, March, and April.
This webpage was updated on August 15, 2008.