Sydella Blatch, a PhD candidate in the ASU School of Life Sciences (SoLS), has designed and obtained funding for a program in which minority graduate students in the sciences can serve as mentors for their undergraduate peers. 

The program, called Shades Multicultural Mentoring, matches interested undergraduate science students with graduate students from the same  program. Shades invites all underrepresented students in the STEM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to participate.

“I think much of the reason minorities and people of color are underrepresented in the sciences is because of lack of information, exposure, and in various ways, opportunity,” says Blatch. “One thing that we can do on a small scale is to increase the amount of information and exposure underrepresented people receive.  And there are some things that just go over better when coming from a peer.”

Sydella is a graduate of the Preparing Future Faculty Program, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. She’s been a teaching assistant in the School of Life Sciences, a co-president of the Black Graduate Student Association of ASU, has worked extensively with the Minority Access to Research Careers Program at ASU, and is frequently invited to participate in panels and workshops to encourage African American students to attend college or graduate school.

After completing her PhD in Biology, Sydella will complete post-doctoral training in epigenetics and plans to become a professor of biology.

Photo: Sydella Blatch (left) mentors Master's student Manoush Farzin