WELLESLEY HILLS (September 21, 2016) — MassBay Community College will host its annual STEM Mentor Program Kick-off Reception on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 5pm–7pm on the Wellesley campus, to introduce MassBay students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields to professionals who will provide mentorship related to students’ educational and professional development. This reception will include a welcome from MassBay President David Podell, the Director of the STEM Mentor Program, and Sanofi’s U.S. Head of Biopharmaceutics Development. The reception is an opportunity for the mentee and mentor pairs to meet for the first time in a structured and supportive environment.
The STEM Mentor Program is a collaborative program that facilitates one-on-one mentoring relationships and provides substantive, skills-based and networking programs throughout the year. The STEM students selected for the 2016-2017 program will meet their mentors several times throughout the year to discuss career opportunities in the STEM fields, ask for advice to advance them in their field of study, explore job shadow opportunities, and more. Mentor and mentee pairs are required to meet at least once a month in person, with frequent communication between meetings. Mentees are asked to take the initiative and be the drivers of the relationship.
In the fall of 2014, MassBay launched the STEM Mentor Program with 41 students and one company, Genzyme/Sanofi, whose employees served as mentors. This year, the STEM Mentor Program has expanded to include 63 students paired primarily with employees from more than 15 regional companies and agencies. Four employers have five or more mentors participating in the program, they include: Sanofi Genzyme, MathWorks, the U.S. Army corps of Engineers and the U.S. FDA Winchester Engineering Analytical Center. The STEM Mentor Program is funded through Sanofi Genzyme and the STEM Starter Academy.
“We are so grateful for Sanofi Genzyme’s charitable contribution which has allowed us to expand the capacity and reach of the program” said MassBay STEM Mentor Program Director Valerie Kapilow. “This program is so critically important for our students, helping them to make the connection between their coursework and professional goals. Our mentors provide consistent encouragement and support and serve as positive role models for our students to emulate.”
“Sanofi Genzyme has been very happy to support the program financially, and our employees have enjoyed engaging with their mentees at MassBay,” said Sanofi U.S. Head of Biopharmaceutics Development Rebecca Sendak. “Apart from the mutual benefits that comes from any mentoring relationship, investing in the MassBay students helps to encourage more talents to enter the STEM fields which strengthens our local economic community.”
The STEM Mentor Program is part of the MassBay Leadership Ambassadors (MBLA) which includes mentors and mentees from various disciplines and is designed to benefit the development of all students from different educational and socio-economic backgrounds, foundations, ethnicities and values, and prepare them for a future of career success. MBLA serves as the umbrella association under which all of the individual mentoring programs at MassBay fall. Currently, MassBay has eight mentoring programs under MBLA including the Boston Scientific Mentoring Program, Multicultural Mentoring Program, Fuller Middle School, Success Boston, Young Men of Color, Veteran & Military Mentoring Program, 100 Males to College, and the STEM Mentor Program.
For more information on MassBay's STEM Mentor Program; www.massbay.edu/STEM.