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SHADES - Multicultural Mentoring Program

Multicultural Mentoring Program

The ASU Graduate College highly recommends Shades, a Multicultural Mentoring Program for future scientists. If you are not a scientist, you are still welcome to participate in the Shades Multicultural Mentoring Program. ASU students—as well as many ASU student organizations—have joined Shades, creating a truly interdisciplinary assembly of scholars that spans across disciplines, promotes professional development and encourages networking within the ASU community. Interested students will be matched and mentored by graduate students from the same or similar programs of study.

Participate in Shades

Any graduate or undergraduate science student who is interested in mentorship and wants to provide or receive support in multicultural and academic issues.

How the Shades Program works

A network of support and informational exchange, Shades will ask that:
  • Mentors check in with mentees twice a month. The two of you may choose how you wish to stay connected; in-person, e-mail, or by phone and how often you wish to meet; a few minutes, a half hour, an hour, or monthly. The Shades mentorship will last as long or as short as you wish.
  • Participants gather every other month (food provided). Some portion of time in most meetings will have panels or guest speakers on topics such as career options in STEM fields, resume building, graduate school preparation, etc. Time is also allotted for socializing.
  • Participants will be included on the Shades Black Board Organization that will serve as a hub of information and discussion regarding seminars / workshops / meetings of interest - study tips, career & professional development articles, and other useful information.

How Shades will benefit ASU Students in Science

Shades has multiple potential positive impacts to the ASU community as a whole. Primarily, it will increase graduate enrollment of underrepresented students.
  • Shades undergraduates will have graduate student role models and a community of these students as resources.
  • Shades mentees will learn about options in science and how to enhance their academic performance.
  • Shades mentors will be given the opportunity to be part of a new network at ASU and to help their own community of peers.

The program is not meant to replace formal academic advising, but rather to become a source of support and information on multicultural issues affecting the African American, Asian American, Native American, Pacific Islander, and Latina(o) communities and others in STEM.

As one of the largest institutions of higher learning in the country, ASU is committed to increasing and supporting the diversity of ethnic and cultural groups among graduate students. The Shades program will provide a network to assist students to navigate the university system and achieve their educational goals.

How Shades began

Sydella Blatch with Manoush Farzin Shades is the design of ASU alumna Sydella Blatch, Ph.D. At the time she proposed and obtained funding for Shades, Dr. Blatch was a doctoral candidate in the ASU School of Life Sciences, a graduate of the Preparing Future Faculty Program and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.

Shades participants are mentors for each other, forming a network of support and information exchange. "One thing that we can do on a small scale is to increase the amount of information and exposure underrepresented people receive," says Blatch. "And there are some things that just go over better when coming from a peer."

Shades will grow to employ multi-levels of mentoring in which graduate students will support each other, as they work together in mentoring undergraduates.

Pictured at left: Blatch (left) mentors Masters student Manoush Farzin.

 


Students Butterfield and Hom working together
Students Tucker and Billionniere working together

Karen Butterfield, (left) graduate student, Bioengineering, with Doris Hom, graduate student, Bioengineering

Telpriore Tucker, (left), graduate student, Engineering with Elodie Billionniere, graduate student, Computer Science


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