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High School

Mentoring Guide

Freshman 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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Freshman Year Theme

Themes

  • Strong academic core
  • Well roundedness in academics and extracurricular activities
  • Introduction to leadership

Mentor Support

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

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Welcome to your first year in Thriving Elements. Achieving excellent grades, developing leadership skills, and participating in school activities 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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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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You get out of Thriving Elements what you put into it. Hard work pays off!

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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.

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Fall Tasks: September

Orientation (20 minutes)

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

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  • Discuss why you chose to be a mentor/mentee.
  • Share your high level goals for your first year.
  • Mentor provides STEM fields to recommend.

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  • What are your favorite subjects and STEM interests?
  • What are your favorite extracurricular activities like sports or clubs?

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Fall Tasks: September

Goals (20 minutes)

  • Determine your goals for the year for Academic, Personal, and Leadership topics. Goals Template. Discuss your goals in the next session.

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  • Good goals are S.M.A.R.T.

Specific

Measurable

Actionable

Realistic

Timely

  • How to write S.M.A.R.T goals?
  • Watch Khan Academy Video (3 minutes)
  • See example S.M.A.R.T. goals on next slide.

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Fall Tasks: September

Example of Goals

  • Improve my problem solving skills so that I can improve my math and science grades to the next level by the end of freshman year.
  • Explore STEM careers so that I can narrow my focus to 5 areas of career interest before my next year of high school.
  • Build my personal and leadership skills by participating in 3 extracurricular activities during the school year so that I have more confidence in leading and socializing with others by the end of the school year.

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Fall Tasks: September

Personal Development (20 minutes)

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

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  • How do extracurricular activities build personal development?
  • What kind of activities are available at your school and/or outside of school?

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

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Fall Tasks: October

Academics (30 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 how to improve weaknesses and maintain strengths.

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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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Fall Tasks: November

College Planning (30 minutes)

  • Research college options, for example, Running Start, advanced classes for college credit (AP IB), community college than transfer to college, or a four-year university.

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

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Fall Tasks: November

Leadership Development (30 minutes)

  • What makes a good Leader?
  • Discuss with your mentor leader traits you find most valuable.

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

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  • Identify 1 person from school or that you know that shows leadership skills. What makes this person a good leader to you?

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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

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: January

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 next season’s activities. For example, figure out tryout dates for spring sports and sign up for spring activities.

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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.

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Winter Tasks: February

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: March

Leadership Development (30 minutes)

  • Have you observed anytime you have been looked as a Leader?

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  • Who are your role models? What about them inspires you?

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  • Discuss possible future Leader roles you would like to do.
  • Ex. Team Captain or Student Government

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Winter Tasks: March

Diversity (30 minutes)

  • Research diversity issues and discuss with your mentor.
  • What does diversity mean to you?
  • Who are your diversity role models? For example, women or minorities in STEM fields today.
  • What about them inspires you?
  • Observe and discuss the diversity in your classes and extracurricular activities you are involved in.

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Spring Tasks: April

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?

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Spring Tasks: April

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.
  • If needed, work on building a resume together.

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  • Research and discuss local STEM summer activities and apply for a scholarship if a fee is required.

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Spring Tasks: May

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 since January?
  • Which goals have you made progress on since January?

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  • Which goals do you need help with?
  • Which goals need to be revised?
  • Celebrate with your mentor!

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Spring Tasks: May

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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Spring Tasks: June

Academics (30 minutes)

  • Discuss with your mentor how you did your Freshman year.
  • In which classes are you doing well?
  • In which subjects did you struggle?
  • Plan summer activities to strengthen your weaknesses.

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Spring Tasks: June

Leadership Development (30 minutes)

  • Have you observed throughout the year when you have been looked at as a Leader?

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  • Discuss possible future Leader roles you would like to have over the summer.

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  • Explore school clubs and student government positions you can do next year.

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Summer Tasks: July

Academics (60 minutes)

  • Discuss with your mentor how you are strengthening your academic weaknesses.
  • Which STEM subjects to you like most?
  • In which STEM subjects do you do the best?
  • Which STEM subjects are the most challenging?
  • Plan your next year’s courses.

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Summer Tasks: August

Personal Development (30 minutes)

  • Have fun during the summer break!
  • Share with your mentor what you did over the summer.
  • Which personal traits are your strengths and which need improving?
  • Discuss with your mentor how you are strengthening your personal development weaknesses.

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Summer Tasks: August

Leadership Development (30 minutes)

  • Which leadership traits are your strengths?
  • Which leadership traits need improving?
  • Discuss with your mentor how you are strengthening your leadership weaknesses.
  • Which summer activities are helping to improve your leadership skills?

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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 your first year of Thriving Elements!

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Next steps: Review the Sophomore year’s guide.

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