|
Call for Mentors
|
Cara Hart
|
Nov 11, 2004 07:33 PST
|
Be a mentor!
Women are underrepresented in the world of Information Technology and
Computer Science. One way to improve the numbers is to encourage more women
to enter higher education in these fields and to support them in their efforts.
Colorado Women In Technology (CWIT) is aiding the Colorado Undergraduate
Education for Women in Information Technology (CUEWIT) project in
establishing a mentoring initiative to increase the number of women
entering Information Technology (IT) undergraduate education.
CUEWIT, a CIT-funded collaborative project of the University of Colorado
(Boulder and Denver) and The Women’s College at the University of Denver,
is working to increase awareness of IT and IT career paths, as well as the
need to pursue a four-year degree program for community college women from
the five metro community colleges. A significant part of this process is
intended to occur through mentoring.
In CUEWIT, the mentor is a career adviser who will develop a communications
relationship with a woman who is a community college student at Arapahoe
Community College, Community College of Aurora, Community College of
Denver, Front Range Community College, or Red Rocks Community College.
Your education and work experience would be invaluable to a woman just
starting out in IT.
Mentors can help students by:
• discussing business use of IT and sharing knowledge about the industry;
• providing perspective on specific career paths, i.e. systems
integration/analysis,
software, digital media, web development/administration, networks,
technical support,
technical writing, etc, and/or potential opportunities within their
current place of
employment;
• providing an opportunity to job shadow;
• encouraging transfer to a four-year IT degree program; and
• other appropriate interaction.
Mentors are asked to attend an initial get-together to meet their protégé.
After that, mentors and protégés will set their own goals and plan for how,
and how often, to communicate. Mentors are asked to commit to the program
through the summer of 2005, which is the conclusion of the funded CUEWIT
project. You may discover, however, that you would like to continue the
mentoring relationship beyond that time.
Please consider participating in this important effort.
If you would like to be a mentor, please call or email Mary Ann Roe at
303-871-6812 or mr-@du.edu. We will send you a brief survey to identify
your geographic location in the metro area and personal interests, so that
we can match you with a community college student.
We look forward to hearing from you.
|
|
 |
|
