Destination STEMM: reach your full potential
Picture: Windsor Fellowship
In addition to our Broadening Horizons in the Chemical Sciences programme, another important commitment in our Missing Elements action plan to address racial and ethnic inequalities is Destination STEMM - Chemical Sciences. Partnering with the Windsor Fellowship, we are aiming to change ambitions for Black and minority ethnic Year 12 students considering a degree or career in chemistry. One year into Destination STEMM we caught up with some of the students and their mentors from industry and academia.
鈥淢y mentor was very informative and helpful,鈥� says Taksha a biology, chemistry, maths and sociology student, 鈥減roviding me information on university courses and careers I am interested in and also giving me detailed insight into a career in chemistry. The ability to talk first hand with my mentor was extremely valuable, as I gained insight and knowledge into industry and research, as I did not know anything about this area of chemistry before joining the Fellowship.鈥�
Students taking part in a chemistry workshop at Hertford College, Oxford Picture: Windsor Fellowship
The mentors are also impressed by their students: 鈥淲e get on very well鈥� says Jenny Zhang, a鈥痳esearch fellow at Cambridge University. 鈥淗e has a very admirable work ethic and is very bright. I have tried to give him more perspectives for universities and beyond.鈥�
These are the kind of discussions that play out at the monthly mentor-mentee meetings that form the backbone of Destination STEMM. This programme from the 欧美AV is delivered in partnership with The Windsor Fellowship and supported by the Chemists鈥� Community Fund. It complements the 欧美AV鈥檚 Broadening Horizons in the Chemical Sciences programme, a new three-year pilot in which early-career chemists from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds receive support and access to opportunities enabling them to pursue careers in chemical sciences industry (see p8-9). Destination STEMM students come from a range of backgrounds and locations across the UK. The support their mentors offer might be academic, or personal to the individual student鈥檚 needs.
Being involved has changed my mind on options for my future in the chemical sciences. I have an array of degrees, careers and apprenticeships to choose from within the chemical sciences, which I simply wasn鈥檛 aware of before joining.
Taksha, Year 12 chemistry student
It鈥檚 not just the students who gain something from the programme. 鈥淚 wanted to give to someone the opportunities and cultural capital that I wish I had growing up鈥� says Jenny Zhang. 鈥淩eflecting back, I can see how difficult my journey was as a first-generation immigrant from a low social economical background to become a scientist.
鈥淚鈥檝e gained a deeper understanding of the mental barriers holding back under-represented students. This will help me professionally as an educator and recruiter of students. It will also help me to challenge my own self beliefs in the future perhaps.鈥�
Dr Bhaven Patel, Course Leader for Pharmaceutical Science at London Metropolitan University, had similar motivations: 鈥淚 believe in giving everyone an opportunity and this programme gives students from under-represented groups a chance to shine in an area that I specialise in.
鈥淏eing a mentor has helped me understand the pressures that young students face in the current climate of doing exams after the pandemic but also family pressures. I have also had to do my own research in helping someone grow and improve. I believe over the year more trust has been gained.鈥�
Richard Brett is an Audit Manager at GSK: 鈥淎s someone who comes from quite an ordinary background, I wanted to help others in a similar position achieve their full potential.
鈥淚鈥檝e got an immense amount out of the process, both personally and professionally.鈥� There is nothing more satisfying than seeing when your mentee has got a significant insight into whatever was on their mind, worked out a way forward and their enthusiasm is fired up.鈥�
There are challenges for mentors too. One told us: 鈥淢y mentee is a private person. Due to cultural conflict, she is struggling between what she wants to do and meeting her family鈥檚 expectations and public acceptance. For example, she prefers going to a university far from home but is not sure if it would be OK for her parents.鈥�
The students are now at the midpoint of both their A-level studies and Destination STEMM. So far, they鈥檝e attended workshops on goal setting, personal statements and university and career choices, with further seminars on teamwork, leadership, interview technique and preparing for exams still to come. Two of the mentors have also gone above and beyond the Destination STEMM programme to arrange visits at GSK and Hertford College, Oxford, with financial support from the 欧美AV Inclusion and Diversity Fund.
鈥淭he workshop at Oxford University was fantastic鈥� says Keera, who is taking A-levels in biology, chemistry and maths. 鈥淚 learnt about the work of Robert Mokaya whose paper I later read. It helped me immensely in shaping and confirming my decision to study science at university.鈥�
鈥淎t GSK I was able to visit HPLC and NMR spectroscopy labs鈥� adds Taksha, 鈥減utting my A-level knowledge into context and giving me invaluable first-hand experience of what working in chemistry really looks like.鈥�
Laura Reyes is programme leader for Destination STEMM 鈥� Chemical Sciences for the 欧美AV: 鈥淏y working with the Windsor Fellowship, we are supporting the next generation of aspiring chemistry students from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds to pursue a future in the chemical sciences. From our Missing Elements research, we know that students from these backgrounds are less likely to stay in our discipline 鈥� and we know how important mentors are in overcoming the barriers faced through individual support and guidance.
鈥淚 have been overwhelmed by the response from our members to step forward and volunteer as mentors. It is clear that our community shares our enthusiasm to make a difference and ensure that everyone is given every opportunity they can to fulfil their potential. It has been wonderful to receive feedback from mentees and mentors alike on how they are benefitting from the programme.鈥�
With Destination STEMM now fully underway, how do the students feel about their future? Taksha鈥檚 thoughts sum up the aims of Destination STEMM perfectly: 鈥淏eing involved has changed my mind on options for my future in the chemical sciences. I have an array of degrees, careers and apprenticeships to choose from within the chemical sciences, which I simply wasn鈥檛 aware of before joining. I have a lot more options to choose from now!鈥�