This month, Boys Hope Girls Hope Steward Scholars had the opportunity to attend the annual Women of Color STEM Conference, a multicultural event recognizing the significant contributions of women in STEM.
AUTHOR
Erin Beezley is the Service Program Coordinator. She manages key collegian and alumni program initiatives (World Wide Technology Scholars and Collegiate Prep), volunteer programming (Notre Dame AmeriCorps partnership), and service learning (Guatemala Immersion Trip).
The virtual conference (typically held in Detroit, MI) offered networking and professional development opportunities as well as seminars and workshops covering topics such as advancements in technology, applying emotional intelligence in the workplace, and shutting the gender pay gap.
Boys Hope Girls Hope Steward Scholar Latoya Holmes attended the conference and said this Women of Color experience was the best yet.
“The conversations surrounding mental health were my favorite. We’ve spent a year stressed by Covid and to have successful people in the industry stress the importance of mental health for them and their employees was important to me.”
Boys Hope Girls Hope Steward Scholars from the 2019 WOC STEM Conference (in-person). The 2021 conference was virtual.
“One of the major lessons that I learned is that I can’t pour from an empty cup, so I have to make sure I’m constantly working on myself and my passions.”
—Jimena Sanchez
The theme Reset to Rise: It’s a New Day focused heavily on mental health and the importance of self-care in the workplace. Steward Scholar Jimena Sanchez shared, “One of the major lessons that I learned is that I can’t pour from an empty cup, so I have to make sure I’m constantly working on myself and my passions.”
The same message stuck with freshman Steward Scholar Alysa Christian who said, “Whether it’s as the employee or employer, you need to maintain a balanced mental, emotional, and physical health so that you are able to concentrate and put your best efforts forward.”
After the conference, Steward Scholars were invited to a virtual meet and greet with team members from World Wide Technology to reflect on the experience and learn more about WWT and the work they do around the world. 12 Steward Scholars and 5 WWT team members kicked off the hour-long session by discussing the partnership between World Wide Technology and Boys Hope Girls Hope, as well as potential internship opportunities available to our collegians. Steward Scholars then participated in small group breakouts where they asked questions about WWT, received advice on internships applications and interviews, and learned more about the roles of each WWT team member.
The conference and reflection provided a great experience for our collegians, and we look forward to our next opportunity to connect Steward Scholars with industry leaders during the BEYA Digital STEM Conference planned for February 17-19, 2022!