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High School

Mentoring Guide

Sophomore Year

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Launch your STEM education with a Thriving Elements mentor.

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Welcome to Thriving Elements

MISSION

Create access and opportunities for underrepresented, underserved girls in STEM through mentoring.

VISION

Develop and empower women leaders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) to make a sustainable impact in their communities and inspire the next generation of young women.

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How to use this mentoring guide

At the beginning of the school year, define and review your goals for the year ahead. Take time to get to know your mentor and mentee.

For each session, you are given suggested discussion topics, discussion points and actions. It is important before each session to be prepared with completed assignments for discussion.

You can vary your topics as you see most applicable to your STEM interests. But remember, all discussion topics are important to discuss throughout the school year.

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Sophomore Year Theme

Themes

  • Challenge yourself academically
  • Stay involved in extracurricular activities
  • Complete college practice tests

Mentor Support

  • Helps you navigate your journey to become a future leader in STEM

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Whether this is your first or second year in Thriving Elements, achieving excellent grades, developing leadership skills, and preparing for college entrance exams are areas to focus.

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Mentoring Lifecycle

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Discussion Topics

Before your first meeting, review the discussion topics and their definitions.

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If you are already familiar with these topics, briefly review these topics again.

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Discussion Topics

  • Success in academics is important because education is strongly linked to valuable positive outcomes in life.
  • Focusing on academics early in your high school years will help you succeed in your higher education, future STEM career, and beyond.
  • Keeping your mentor involved in your academics can help you succeed and reach your goals.
  1. Academics
  2. Goals
  3. STEM
  4. Personal Development
  5. Leadership Development
  6. Diversity
  7. Planning for College

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Discussion Topics

  • One of the most effective ways to succeed is to set goals and track them.
  • Setting goals at the beginning of each school year will help you see what you hope to accomplish by the end of the school year.
  • Reflecting on your goals periodically will help you see how far you have come and what next steps you need to take to accomplish them.

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  1. Academics
  2. Goals
  3. STEM
  4. Personal Development
  5. Leadership Development
  6. Diversity
  7. Planning for College

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Discussion Topics

  • To become a future leader in STEM, you and your mentor will work together to explore your areas of interest and potential.
  • Whether you are excited about science, technology, engineering, mathematics or any combination of these, Thriving Elements is here to help you succeed.

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  1. Academics
  2. Goals
  3. STEM
  4. Personal Development
  5. Leadership Development
  6. Diversity
  7. Planning for College

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Discussion Topics

  • Developing yourself personally is important because having a strong sense of self will help you navigate the ups and downs of life.
  • Working on balancing confidence, humility, generosity, and helpfulness are just a few examples of personal development.
  • Other examples include your interests outside of the classroom, such as hobbies that help relieve stress.

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  1. Academics
  2. Goals
  3. STEM
  4. Personal Development
  5. Leadership Development
  6. Diversity
  7. Planning for College

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Discussion Topics

  • Becoming a future leader in STEM starts with developing your leadership skills now.
  • Leaders are resourceful, solve problems, promote school involvement, contribute ideas, and have positive attitudes about life.
  • Leaders are also reliable, accountable model candidates for higher learning.
  • There are many ways to learn how to be a leader and get started.

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  1. Academics
  2. Goals
  3. STEM
  4. Personal Development
  5. Leadership Development
  6. Diversity
  7. Planning for College

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Discussion Topics

  • It is important to be prepared to enter a STEM field where men outnumber others in the room.
  • Understanding gender, race, and cultural diversity will help you be part of the solution in fair representation of workers in STEM.
  • You can help future generations enter STEM more easily.

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  1. Academics
  2. Goals
  3. STEM
  4. Personal Development
  5. Leadership Development
  6. Diversity
  7. Planning for College

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Discussion Topics

  • The saying “Education is the key to success” is true.
  • Higher education is the path of achieving your goal of becoming a leader in STEM.
  • When you plan for college, you are planning for your own success.
  • Understanding the steps you need to take to get to college, will make all the difference in your future.

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  1. Academics
  2. Goals
  3. STEM
  4. Personal Development
  5. Leadership Development
  6. Diversity
  7. Planning for College

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YOUR SCHEDULE TO SUCCESS.

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“Creativity is the secret sauce to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). It is a STEM virtue.”

Ainissa G. Ramirez, PhD, Engineering professor at Yale University

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As a Mentee, what does this quote mean to you?

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Mentoring Sessions

Mentoring sessions typically last 1 hour and can be held virtually or in person in a public place, like a coffee shop or library.

1st year Thriving Elements mentees meet every month and should complete all the tasks listed in this guide. Mentees and Mentors please review the session topics for the current month before you meet.

2nd year Thriving Elements mentees meet every other month and should complete tasks for September, November, January, March, May and Summer. Optionally, you can complete tasks for non-required months, but you might find some tasks duplicate from your first year in the program.

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Repetitive Discussion Topics

After your first year, you may see some repetitive discussion topics. If you and your mentor feel you have covered the topics sufficiently, replace them with a topic you need to focus more time on. Be creative and think outside of the box.

Repetitive topics include:

  • Goals - review these on a regular basis.
  • Academics - how are your classes going?
  • College Planning - taking practice tests.
  • Personal Development - signing up for sports and clubs.

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Fall Tasks: September

Orientation (15 minutes)

1st year mentees:

  • Get to know your Mentor/Mentee.
  • Introduce yourself and share 1 personal thing you like to do.

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1st year mentees:

  • Discuss why you chose to be a mentor/mentee.
  • Where do you feel you need the most support?

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2nd year mentees:

  • Reconnect with each other and share something personal.
  • Mentor provides STEM fields to recommend.

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Fall Tasks: September

Goals (20 minutes)

  • Determine your goals for the year for Academics and other topics of interest. Goals Template. Discuss your goals in the next session.

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  • How can you provide actionable items for your goals so you have the best chance of achieving them?

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  • Review the 3 key elements for goals:
  • Condition
  • Behavior
  • Criteria
  • See example goals on next slide.

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Fall Tasks: September

Example of Goals

  • In my Sophomore year, complete honor and/or running start courses, so that I am better prepared for college success.
  • In my Sophomore year, expand the number of extracurricular activities, so that I continue to build my personal and leadership experience.
  • In my Sophomore year, complete 4-5 SAT/ACT practice tests so that I am prepared to score well on the actual tests.

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Fall Tasks: September

Academics (20 minutes)

  • Get a list of available classes and electives and share with your mentor.
  • What courses are you taking now and plan to take?

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  • Discuss with your mentor STEM courses and Honors courses you plan to take.
  • Ask your mentor about their favorite courses.

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  • Discuss with your mentor about your favorite subjects and how you feel about them?

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Fall Tasks: October

STEM (30 minutes)

  • Pick three topics from the STEM Topics List to discuss with your mentor.

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  • Complete preliminary research on all three topics before meeting with mentor.

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  • Discuss with your mentor why each topic interests you, what you imagine your yourself doing with each, etc.

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1st year mentees should complete this task.

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Fall Tasks: October

College Planning (30 minutes)

  • Which college options are you most interested, for example, Running Start and advanced classes for college credit (AP IB)?
  • Which community colleges and universities have STEM programs you might be interested in?

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  • What kind of college conversations have you had with your friends?

1st year mentees should complete this task.

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Fall Tasks: November

Personal Development (30 minutes)

  • What kind of extracurricular activities do you plan to participate in this year?

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  • Discuss with your mentor about which activities you are interested in.
  • Prepare for winter activities.

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  • What extracurricular activities are you currently doing and have done in the past?

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Fall Tasks: November

Leadership Development (30 minutes)

  • What makes a good Leader? What traits do you have that makes you a leader?

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  • Discuss with your mentor, leader traits you find most valuable.
  • Ask your mentor how they were a leader in high school.

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  • In what ways are you a leader in the classroom and extracurricular activities?

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Fall Tasks: December

Take time to get to know your mentor better

  • Ask your mentor their high school experience.
  • Ask your mentor to share their STEM experience.

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  • Ask your mentor what helped make them successful in high school.
  • What challenges did they face?

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  • Ask your mentor if they had a mentor?
  • How did their mentor help them?

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Winter Tasks: January

College Planning (30 minutes)

  • Which test(s) are you planning on taking, the SAT or the ACT or both?
  • Find out if your school offers or requires the PSAT, and on which date.
  • Research structure and timing for each test.
  • Take a practice test.

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  • Consider creating an online profile on LinkedIn or other social media platform.
  • Try to connect with other STEM students.

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Winter Tasks: January

STEM (30 minutes)

  • Revisit the three topics you chose from the STEM Topics List.
  • Are you still interested in the STEM topics you selected?

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  • Are there other STEM topics you are more interested in?
  • What have you learned since the last discussion with your mentor?

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  • Find at least one scholarly news article in one of your chosen topics to discuss with your mentor.

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Winter Tasks: February

Academics (30 minutes)

  • Discuss with your mentor how your current term is going.
  • In which classes are you doing well?
  • Is there anything you need help with?
  • Find a teacher or student who can help you improve.
  • Research free online classes you can take to help improve your skills.

1st year mentees should complete this task.

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Winter Tasks: February

Personal Development (30 minutes)

  • What have you learned from your extracurricular activities in this year?

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  • Discuss with your mentor about which activities you are interested in.
  • Prepare for spring activities.

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  • What extracurricular activities are you currently doing and have done in the past?

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1st year mentees should complete this task.

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Winter Tasks: March

Goals (30 minutes)

  • Reflect on the goals you established at the beginning of the school year.

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  • Which goals have you achieved?
  • Which goals have you made progress on?

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  • Which goals do you need help with?
  • Which goals need to be revised?

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Winter Tasks: March

Diversity (30 minutes)

  • Research gender diversity issues and discuss with your mentor.
  • What does gender diversity mean to you?
  • Research the gender wage gap and equal pay issues for the current year.
  • What are the effects of wage gaps based on gender?
  • How can people and governments work together to make sure equal pay becomes reality?

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Spring Tasks: April

College Planning (30 minutes)

  • Take another SAT/ACT practice test.
  • What help do you need to improve your college entrance exam practice test score?
  • Find a teacher or student who can help you improve.
  • Ask your mentor how they improved their test scores.

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  • Determine if you need to take a summer class to improve your college entrance exam scores.

1st year mentees should complete this task.

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Spring Tasks: April

STEM (30 minutes)

  • Revisit the three topics you chose from the STEM Topics List.
  • Are you still interested in the STEM topics you selected?

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  • Research available STEM-related workshops, camps, seminars, volunteer opportunities, internships, etc. for high school students.

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  • Find at least one scholarly news article in one of your chosen topics to discuss with your mentor.

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1st year mentees should complete this task.

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Spring Tasks: May

Personal Development (30 minutes)

  • What have you learned from your extracurricular activities since the beginning of the school year?

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  • Prepare for summer activities. For example, apply for a job or volunteer.
  • Research local STEM summer activities and apply for a scholarship if a fee is required.

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  • If needed, work on building a resume together.
  • Ask your mentor about their internship or job application tips.

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Spring Tasks: May

Leadership Development (30 minutes)

  • Apply or run for a leadership position in a student club for the following academic year.

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  • What do you need in order to succeed in this leadership position?

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  • What do you hope to gain from this leadership experience next year?

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Spring Tasks: June

Goals (30 minutes)

  • Reflect on the goals you established at the beginning of the school year.
  • Which goals have you achieved since January?

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  • Which goals have you made progress on since January?
  • Which goals do you need help with?

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  • Which goals need to be revised?
  • Which activities do you want to continue?
  • Celebrate with your mentor!

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1st year mentees should complete this task.

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Spring Tasks: June

STEM (30 minutes)

  • Research available STEM-related workshops, camps, seminars, volunteer opportunities, internships, etc. for high school students.
  • Which STEM subjects do you like most?
  • In which STEM subjects do you do the best?
  • Which STEM subjects are the most challenging?
  • Review these STEM quotes and pick your top 3.
  • Write your own STEM quote.

1st year mentees should complete this task.

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Summer Tasks: July/August

Academics (30 minutes)

  • Have fun during the summer break!
  • Share with your mentor what you did over the summer.
  • Improve your academic weaknesses over the summer.
  • Get a list of available classes and electives and share with your mentor.
  • Discuss with your mentor STEM, college, and Honors courses you plan to take.

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Summer Tasks: July/August

College Planning (30 minutes)

  • Take another SAT/ACT practice test.
  • Research colleges you would like to attend.
  • What college courses can you take during high school?
  • Research the Head Start program to see if it is right for you.

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Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.

THRIVE

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Contact Us

mentoring@thrivingelements.org

www.thrivingelements.org

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Mentoring Feedback Form

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Congratulations! You finished another year of Thriving Elements!

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Next steps: Review the Junior year’s guide.

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