Conference Session

Track 5: Technical Session 3: Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion for First-Generation Students: A First Year Seminar Course Approach

Collection

2025 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)

Authors

Alandra Kahl, Pennsylvania State University, Greater Allegheny

Tagged Topics

2025 CoNECD Paper Submissions, Diversity

focused on critical thinking, time management, and effective communication—skills essential for academic and personal success. Slide 7: Example of Skill Building Workshop • In this skill-building workshop, we focused on three key areas: critical thinking, time management, and effective communication. The session began with an engaging icebreaker where students introduced themselves and shared one personal goal for the semester, fostering a sense of community and collaboration. We then delved into critical thinking, exploring techniques such as questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, and making well-reasoned arguments. Students participated in group activities that challenged them to analyze

Conference Session

Track 7: Technical Session 7: Grassroots Approach to Advancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access in Engineering

Collection

2025 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)

Authors

Ashleigh R. Wright, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Ellen Wang Althaus, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Akshina Sood, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Lance Cooper, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Lynford Goddard, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Topics

2025 CoNECD Paper Submissions, Diversity

community organization such as the YMCA or Boysand Girls Club. These projects engage students in STEM activities for early exposure toengineering. Projects can focus on specific ranges such as K-8, K-12, grades 5-8, or grades 9-12. Mentoring-centered projects represent mentorship among various levels such as near peermentoring between undergraduate and high school students, graduate and undergraduatestudents, graduate student peer mentoring, and mentoring of graduate students by faculty andcollege administrators. Professional development projects provide training to enhance specificskills (e.g., research and academic skills, experiential learning opportunities, allyship, orinclusive language). Accessibility-focused projects develop tools in

Conference Session

Track 1: Technical Session 6: "Use of a multi-level self-study to engage campus stakeholders and improve STEM student learning outcomes "

Collection

2025 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)

Authors

Jennifer Speed, Texas State University; Don Pair, University of Dayton

Tagged Topics

2025 CoNECD Paper Submissions, Diversity

graduation rates [2]. Among STEM majors, genderadds another burden, with women often facing the so-called “gender grade penalty” in STEMclasses relative to their male peers [3], [4]. Computer science in particular faces a dual problemwith regard to low participation by women: recruiting and retention [5].Even as the factors of race, gender, and family income remain highly relevant for understandinguneven outcomes, an increasing body of research suggests that the problems faced by STEMstudents are much more multifaceted than assumed, particularly when trying to serve low-income, first-generation, and students and those from other historically underrepresented/historically underserved (UR/US) groups in STEM. A small team of faculty and staff at

Conference Session

Track 7: Technical Session 4: Diversity in STEM: Strategies of Professional Engineering Organizations in Recruiting and Retaining Women from Minority-Serving Institutions

Collection

2025 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)

Authors

Rebeca Petean, Society of Women Engineers; Roberta Rincon, Society of Women Engineers

Tagged Topics

2025 CoNECD Paper Submissions, Diversity

-funded Women of Color in Engineering Collaborative, whose mission is to work cooperatively with other organizations to provide resources to create a supportive, encouraging, and inclusive environment in the engineering workplace. Her SWE research centers on equity issues in STEM education and the workplace, with studies on gender bias, the development of an engineering identity, and the community college transfer pathway. Prior to joining SWE, she worked in higher education policy research and on programs focused on faculty productivity and student success. She received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, MBA and M.S. in Information Management from Arizona State University, and Ph.D