Project Strengthen: An STEMM-focused career development workshop to prepare underrepresented minority students for graduate school.

Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) programs are aimed to increase diversity in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM) fields. However, limited programs and eligibility requirements limit the students who may apply to similar programs. At Winston-Salem State University, we piloted a series of workshops, collectively termed Project Strengthen, to emulate some of the key aspects of MARC programs. Following the workshop, Project Strengthen students showed a significant increase in their understanding of essential educational development skills, such as writing personal statements, applying to graduate school, studying for the GRE, and seeking summer internships. This suggests Project Strengthen may be a potential lower cost comparable option than MARC to make up for current deficiencies in preparedness for graduate school. We also provide educational materials from Project Strengthen, including a clear framework for this seminar series, six ready-made PowerPoints to share with trainees that have been demonstrated to be effective.

An effective workshop on "How to be an Effective Mentor for Underrepresented STEM Trainees".

Despite an increase in programming to promote persons excluded by their ethnicity or race (PEER) scholars, minorities remain underrepresented in many STEM programs. The academic pipeline is largely leaky for underrepresented minority (URM) scholars due to a lack of effective mentorship. Many URM students experience microaggressions and discrimination from their mentors due to a lack of quality mentorship training. In this workshop, we provide a framework to show trainees what effective mentoring looks like. Mentees, especially URM trainees, can flourish in effective mentoring environments where they feel welcomed and can comfortably develop new ideas without feeling threatened by external factors. Effective mentoring environments provide motivational support, empathy, cultural competency, and training. This workshop explains facets of effective mentoring to students, as well as highlights to URM trainees why mentors can serve as valuable resources.

Using champion-oriented mindset to overcome the challenges of graduate school: impact of workshop for graduate school skills on underrepresented minority retention.

Despite efforts to increase diversity, a glaring underrepresentation of minorities (URM) persists in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Graduate school can be a stressful step in the STEM pipeline, especially for students previously unaware of the structure and challenges of postgraduate education. To promote successful minority participation in STEM and prepare prospective students for the impending challenges of applying for and attending graduate school, we developed a workshop based on the mentoring and fostering of a champion-oriented mindset entitled, "The Trials and Tribulations of Graduate School: How Do You Make an Impact?." Students from the HBCU Winston-Salem State University attended the workshop, and a pre/post-a 10-point Likert scale-based survey was administered. The questions used in this seminar were newly designed by the authors as program evaluations. The results suggest that the workshop was well-received by the students and provided information that they considered helpful to help navigate the graduate school process.

The role of mentoring in promoting diversity equity and inclusion in STEM Education and Research.

The success of mentoring derives from active and respectful listening and the willingness to learn and accept opportunities for personal growth. This shapes every trainee and their destined path in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The act of cultivating rapport, asking, and pondering meaningful questions, and receiving constructive feedback are critical to support a productive mentoring relationship. Successful mentoring in STEM can be established and allow mentees, especially underrepresented minorities (URMs), to flourish in an environment where they feel welcomed and supported. However, mentees from underrepresented groups often experience inadequate mentoring due to a mentor's lack of awareness, poor trainings themselves, or lack of understanding of the mentee's hardships. It is important for mentors and mentees to work together to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in STEM education through creativity, authenticity, and networking. We analyzed data obtained from students who attended a recent workshop that are interested in going to graduate school. Our results show that despite low initial expectations for the workshop, many students were satisfied in the knowledge they gleaned. The future and role of diversity in STEM within these underrepresented groups lies in community support and an important role that they can play in the lives of others through DEI initiatives and throughout their careers all of which involves positive mentoring.