Board 140: Towards Servingness-Oriented Mentorship

Christian Glandorf; Sandra M. Way; Catherine Brewer; Wendy Chi; Paulette Vincent-Ruz

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Poster Session
Tagged Division: Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46699

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Paper Authors

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Christian Glandorf New Mexico State University

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Chemistry PhD candidate dedicated to dismantling systems of oppression and learning cool things!

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Sandra M. Way New Mexico State University orcid.org/0009-0002-7154-8455

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Dr. Sandra Way earned her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona before working as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at RAND Education. She is presently an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at New Mexico State University. Her scholarship focuses on the effects of school organization and climate on students’ behavioral and achievement outcomes.

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Catherine Brewer New Mexico State University orcid.org/0000-0002-1536-1672

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Dr. Catherine Brewer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering at New Mexico State University.

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Wendy Chi ABC Research & Evaluation

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Dr. Wendy Chi is director of ABC Research and Evaluation, specializing in education research and program evaluations of projects focusing on educational equity issues; specifically, the participation of underrepresented populations in STEM fields. Dr. Chi earned her PhD in Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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Paulette Vincent-Ruz New Mexico State University

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Dr. Paulette Vincent-Ruz is an Assistant Professor in Chemistry Education Research in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department at New Mexico State University.

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Abstract

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) present opportunities for social mobility of marginalized students in STEM. In the USA, Hispanic-Serving status is defined by enrollment of least 25 percent Hispanic students. As such, HSIs dedicated to increasing Hispanic representation in STEM would best serve their mission by preparing their students for longitudinal success, by focusing on educational opportunities beyond short-term retention. In other words, HSIs would best earn their status by moving beyond enrollment into true servingness.

In pursuit of servingness, a program has been developed at an HSI which is designed to prepare students for success in postgraduate studies or the workforce while equipping them with skills related to self-directed learning. In this program, participating students are financially supported as they pursue industry-valued certifications, entrepreneurship training, and design project experiences. Students explore these opportunities under the guidance of industry mentors.

The dynamics of mentorship have been well-explored in available literature, but there is a lack of characterization of servingness within a mentorship paradigm. To explore the mentorship process through a critical servingness lens, efforts were made to assess and understand mentors’ predispositions to the mentoring process. To accomplish this, we interviewed mentors before their participation in a mentoring training workshop. We interviewed 5 industry mentors using a semi structure qualitative interview focused on their experiences with mentoring, and ideas on how to support marginalized students. Data analysis was performed through reflexive thematic analysis via inductive and deductive coding. Deductive coding follows the recommendations/findings of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on effective mentoring in STEMM. Preliminary results indicate that because students are expected to be self-directed in the project, they should also be self-directed in the mentor-mentee relationship. This framing overestimates student’s cultural capital within a marginalized experience. Moreover, mentors acknowledge the effects of systemic racism and other forms of oppression on the experiences of their mentees, but frequently feel ill-equipped to help students navigate that oppression. As we characterize the mentors’ approach to and conception of mentorship before exposure to the workshop, we reveal opportunities to build structures of servingness within the mentoring training process.

Citation
Format

Glandorf, C., & Way, S. M., & Brewer, C., & Chi, W., & Vincent-Ruz, P. (2024, June), Board 140: Towards Servingness-Oriented Mentorship Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46699

TY - CPAPER
AB - Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) present opportunities for social mobility of marginalized students in STEM. In the USA, Hispanic-Serving status is defined by enrollment of least 25 percent Hispanic students. As such, HSIs dedicated to increasing Hispanic representation in STEM would best serve their mission by preparing their students for longitudinal success, by focusing on educational opportunities beyond short-term retention. In other words, HSIs would best earn their status by moving beyond enrollment into true servingness.

In pursuit of servingness, a program has been developed at an HSI which is designed to prepare students for success in postgraduate studies or the workforce while equipping them with skills related to self-directed learning. In this program, participating students are financially supported as they pursue industry-valued certifications, entrepreneurship training, and design project experiences. Students explore these opportunities under the guidance of industry mentors.

The dynamics of mentorship have been well-explored in available literature, but there is a lack of characterization of servingness within a mentorship paradigm. To explore the mentorship process through a critical servingness lens, efforts were made to assess and understand mentors’ predispositions to the mentoring process. To accomplish this, we interviewed mentors before their participation in a mentoring training workshop. We interviewed 5 industry mentors using a semi structure qualitative interview focused on their experiences with mentoring, and ideas on how to support marginalized students. Data analysis was performed through reflexive thematic analysis via inductive and deductive coding. Deductive coding follows the recommendations/findings of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on effective mentoring in STEMM. Preliminary results indicate that because students are expected to be self-directed in the project, they should also be self-directed in the mentor-mentee relationship. This framing overestimates student’s cultural capital within a marginalized experience. Moreover, mentors acknowledge the effects of systemic racism and other forms of oppression on the experiences of their mentees, but frequently feel ill-equipped to help students navigate that oppression. As we characterize the mentors’ approach to and conception of mentorship before exposure to the workshop, we reveal opportunities to build structures of servingness within the mentoring training process.

AU - Christian Glandorf
AU - Sandra M. Way
AU - Catherine Brewer
AU - Wendy Chi
AU - Paulette Vincent-Ruz
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Board 140: Towards Servingness-Oriented Mentorship
UR - https://peer.asee.org/46699
ER -