NYAS Mentorship

I submitted my application in September of 2018 to the website of The New York Academy of Sciences. I was reminded of completing the application by an email in which I didn’t finish. The mentorship is in cooperation with the United Technologies Corporation. One of the qualifications of being a mentor is graduate students, postdocs or professionals working in STEM-related fields with expertise in green buildings and sustainability or related topic area. Other criteria are to be passionate about engaging and inspiring the next generation of STEM innovators.
I was able to complete the application and I was scheduled for an interview by another mentor in October. After the interview, my background was checked by a vendor to provide a secure and comfortable mentoring environment to the NYAS program. It took 3 weeks to finally be cleared of the background check.


In the first week of November, I was admitted to the program. I was given access to the portal. We were then given a welcome package on how to use the portal and what are the reminders of being a mentor.
I received an email that I was matched with my mentee in the second week of December. My mentee is budding 17 years old girl from Bulgaria who wants to be a Chemical Engineer. I was matched with her because I graduated with BS Chemistry in college.
We were introduced and our first meeting was in the same week. She’s a very pretty girl who is active in her hometown in different science-related activities and also with her advocacy with her community as one of the young leaders. She planned to study in a different country and she’s learning French.
There are four modules with the STEM U that will also help and guide the young generation and it was distributed for the whole school year. They are an interactive module that helps the mentee with their personality and personal goals going to STEM.
At the end of the school year, both mentees and mentors will receive their certification in being a part o the program.
For more details about the mentoring programs, you can check the website www.nyas.org