JEDI in STEM Initiative

What Does JEDI in STEM Stand For?

2024 Giving Goals

According to a report published by the Pew Research Center in April of 2021, women and people of color were underrepresented in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce as of 2018¹. Another study published in January of 2021 revealed systemic inequalities for LGBTQIA+ professionals in STEM fields². The 2021 annual Condition of Education report from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that college acceptance and success rates of affluent students are far greater than those of non-affluent students across the US. We are acutely aware of how economic disadvantages and disabilities can prohibit students from accessing learning opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, gender, or other identifiers. Wyoming Stargazing wants to further our mission of educating and inspiring everyone by increasing Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) in STEM. With that goal in mind we’re creating a scholarship and mentorship program for opportunity youth to attend a university or community college so that they can successfully earn a degree in a STEM field. Our goal is to provide STEM mentoring and tutoring support beginning in elementary school and to provide four $5,000 annual scholarships to deserving local graduating seniors for up to four years of college.

In the mentorship program students will gain valuable personal and professional skills to help them succeed in college and throughout the rest of their lives. This program will also support students through their transitions from middle school to high school to college and then to a professional career, which can be exceptionally daunting. The mentorship component of this program is done in collaboration with the Teton County School District (TCSD) Achievement via Individual Determination program (AVID), Girl’s Actively Participating (GAP), and other local nonprofit organizations. We provide STEM tutoring and mentoring support for students on a daily basis throughout the school year both during school hours and after school. In the summer students will have an opportunity to engage with additional STEM learning opportunities from Wyoming Stargazing in Jackson. Our STEM mentorship lessons will address scientific and mathematical reasoning as well as provide practical opportunities to do science through authentic learning activities including, but not limited to, launching of weather balloons with data collection devices, designing payloads and experiments for the International Space Station, building telescopes, and fabricating and launching nanosats. In addition skills pertaining to emotional intelligence, client communication, writing, financial planning, mindfulness, networking and negotiation, and computer literacy will be woven into the curriculum.

All graduating seniors in Teton County intending to pursue a college degree in the STEM fields will be eligible to apply for the scholarship we offer. However, we will be giving preference to students who demonstrate financial need and whose identities are underrepresented in STEM fields. We will continue to offer weekly STEM mentorship opportunities to our scholarship recipients throughout their time in college as well as to assist them with initial job placement upon graduation. The mentorship program for our scholarship recipients will take place online during the school year and will be a hybrid of online learning and in-person learning during the summers. Scholarship recipients will also receive paid summer employment opportunities at Wyoming Stargazing that dovetail with the mentorship program.

Wyoming Stargazing has a staff and Board of Directors with strong youth mentorship and leadership experience, scientific training, astronomical knowledge, and business acumen. Along with a local steering committee, administrative support from the Fund for Public Education, and other incredible community partnerships we have an amazing opportunity to do so much more to support local students than we ever have before. Our hope is that students who might have otherwise lacked access to STEM opportunities in college will find the support they need within their community to pursue their dreams.

¹“STEM Jobs See Uneven Progress In Increasing Gender, Racial And Ethnic Diversity”. Pew Research Center Science & Society, 2021, Link.

²Cech, E. A., and T. J. Waidzunas. “SySTEMic Inequalities For LGBTQIA+QIA+Q Professionals In STEM”. Science Advances, Vol 7, no. 3, 2021. American Association For The Advancement Of Science (AAAS), Link.

Preliminary Program Design

Steering Committee Responsibilities

• Ensure the integrity, responsibility, and transparency of the  Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion in STEM Scholarship and Mentorship Initiative to support deserving local youth.
  • Meet in-person or via Zoom as a complete advisory board on a quarterly basis and on a monthly basis during application times (February – May).
    • Provide guidance on Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion best practices
    • Articulate mission and goals of the program with non colonial language
    • Review and make recommendations for the mentorship program
    • Adopt unconscious bias and other related trainings for Advisory Board
    • Evaluate and adopt cultural inclusive application processes, scholarship description, etc. (Define a pathway to success)
    • Define eligibility criteria for application
    • Define scholarships requirements for application & 4-yr requirements
    • Create scholarship scoring rubric
    • Essays? Creative Identity Statement? Bilingual or non-English materials?
    • Decide how to access financial need and balance that with merit

• Help to create a fun and safe space for Student Scholarship Applicants during the application process and for Student Recipients during the Mentorship program.
• Select Student Scholarship Recipients
  • Review students’ standard written applications from the Fund for Public Education.
  • Participate in 20-min interviews with each Student Candidate
  • Participate in other TBD application activities (e.g. cell phone video)
  • Make final decisions of Recipients
  • Notify students and Fund for Public Education

Mentor Responsibilities

• Review and make recommendations for the Mentorship program
• Complete Mentorship training activities with other mentors
• Participate in creating online and in-person Mentorship Activities
• Participate in monthly Group Mentoring Activities
• Mentor one or more of the Student Grant Recipients throughout the school year
  • Weekly monitoring of students’ progress on online mentoring platforms
  • Monthly or biweekly 30-min. Zoom check-ins with one or more students
  • Communicate student progress and any concerns to the Advisory Board.
• Participate in at least one 3-hr online or in-person Mentorship Activity for Student Recipients during the summer.
• Mentors are strongly encouraged to attend all Advisory Board meetings and to be Advisory Board members.