Choyce Jakes
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Meaghan Pearson
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Education and Psychology / Other
Program:
Authors: Choyce Jakes, Vivika Mathews, Meaghan Pearson
Session: Session 7: 4:40 pm – 5:30 pm
Poster: 23
Abstract
Over the course of a year, our team has studied why URM (underrepresented minorities) are continually choosing not to pursue STEM (Science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) upon entering higher education. The absence of minorities in this space bars them from fields with increasing economic and social mobility (citation needed), and negatively impacts their self-esteem and sense of belonging in higher education. (citation needed). The issue tended to compound onto itself due to a profound lack of representation, thus further exacerbating the alienating feeling present within STEM departments. Whilst researching the role that DEI (diverse, equitable, and inclusive) department-led mentorship and community-building programs play into the kind of culture that gets cultivated within STEM spaces and how that impacts a student’s decision to spend four years in said environment, we discovered that positive role-models and individualized resources proved to be one of the most effective positive influences on student perception of a collegiate department. Shifting our focus away from race and ethnicity, the topic of our root project, our team has decided to dig deeper and specifically center on department or student-led engineering mentorship programs catered to undergraduate students who identify as a minority of gender or sexuality.
