Dear WISE RP Alumni and Friends,
Greetings from WISE RP! The WISE RP community has grown tremendously and continues to elevate its mission to recruit, retain, and support a diverse cadre of emerging STEM leaders! Our charge as a community has been, and continues to be, to serve as an exemplar for other STEM living and learning communities (LLCs). We are committed to being a space that affirms and celebrates difference, and empowers change agents. The WISE RP team strives to ensure community members leave the experience with increased self-efficacy, enhanced leadership skills, and a greater sense of how they hope to make an impact on their respective fields of study.
In the fall of AY 2023-24, WISE RP will celebrate 30 years of advancing the academic and co-curricular pursuits of gender minoritized students in STEM. This major milestone serves as inspiration for many of the goals and priorities of the community. As the WISE RP reflects on the past 30 years of impact on the U-M community, we strategically chart a path forward to actualize the next 30 years where we can purposefully and intentionally cultivate the next generation of STEM leaders. Victor’s of the WISE RP are critical to the actualization of our goals and priorities.
Here’s a quick glance at our students and what we’ve been up to this academic year:
- Our 2023-24 cohort of students consists of 103 first-year students, 24 sophomores who serve as Peer Mentors, and 4 Resident Advisors.
- For the Spring/Summer 2023 term, WISE RP supported 10 summer scholars through funding from generous WISE RP donors, like you. We are proud that we doubled the number of scholars we’ve had in previous terms. We facilitated a hybrid 10-week research curriculum for summer scholars engaging in research and/or internships. Summer Scholars reflect on their research/internship experiences, develop new professional and research skills, and acquire advice and support as they navigate research and internship spaces.
- In Fall 2023, WISE RP partnered with Procter and Gamble thanks to WISE RP alumni connections, to host a career development/career fair prep program. It was an opportunity for students to learn about potential internships and opportunities in corporate sectors while also engaging with U-M and WISE RP alumni. This experience positively contributed to students’ efficacy to navigate career fairs and also bolstered their confidence to network and engage with STEM professionals.
- We have held 6 successful WISE Nights this academic year, featuring U-M faculty, alumni, and prominent leaders in Michigan. WISE Nights are an opportunity for the WISE RP community to engage with women-identified STEM professionals and learn about how they’ve crafted their STEM journeys. We are proud of the elevation of intersectional identities as we centered current student alumni, Indigenous women in STEM, and Latinx women in STEM
How can you help our WISE RP students?
Victors of the WISE RP support students in a variety of ways, including research, internships, tuition assistance, and STEM career exploration. While we have a number of program priorities, two core priorities of WISE RP are highlighted below:
Summer Scholars: Every summer we seek to assist 4-6 WISE RP students with summer research/internship positions. Thanks to victors like you, we doubled this number in 2023! Summer research and internship opportunities allow WISE RP members the chance to develop valuable research/work experience and build their skills and efficacy in a STEM field. Each $4,000 stipend allows them to be paid for their work and offset living expenses during the summer. Any amount you can donate will help us fund students for this important experience.
Service Learning/ Study Abroad: WISE RP is diligently working to establish a service learning/study abroad component to the program. The desire to infuse service-learning into the curricular elements of WISE RP is because of the important role service learning plays in leadership development and overall student learning. The literature has shown that many students who pursue STEM majors often do not take advantage of servicelearning or study abroad opportunities because of the conflict with their academic course loadand because of financial limitations. The goal is to allow students an opportunity to engage with and support community and global partners on STEM-centric initiatives.
To give, please visit our Giving page.
Thank you for supporting the Women in Science and Engineering Residence Program.#foreverWISERP
