Frequently Asked Questions
For students thinking about starting a chapter:
How do I start a chapter?
The first step to starting your chapter is to fill out our “Become an Ambassador” form. You will then be prompted to schedule an onboarding call with one of our Regional Outreach Directors or Directors of Outreach.
I am planning on starting a chapter with another student or students at my school. Should we attend one onboarding call or two separate onboarding calls?
Please schedule only one time to meet with our representatives. They are high school students too, so please be respectful of their time!
Is filling out the “Become an Ambassador” form a commitment to starting a chapter?
No! Even having a call with an outreach representative isn’t committing! We want you to learn as much as possible about WiSTEM and what it means to be a WiSTEM ambassador before you are asked to formally create your chapter.
Can we have boys in our chapter?
Absolutely. WiSTEM is about creating a community of allies and understanding about what it means to be a woman in a STEM field. This is a mission that includes men too!
Do I have to have a faculty advisor?
As WiSTEM resides in lots of locations, we have no formalized structure for adult advising in a chapter. Many of our chapters have a faculty advisor at their school, and this advisor is often a female STEM teacher, but other chapters are completely student-run. We only ask that you follow the guidelines that your school has put into place for clubs.
Does my chapter need to be affiliated with my school?
Although most chapters are affiliated with high schools, we understand that there may be circumstances that bar a student from creating a chapter at their school. In that extenuating circumstance, your chapter may reside in your community and not in your high school.
What programs does WiSTEM offer that being an ambassador would grant me access to?
As a chapter leader, you and your members will have the opportunity to attend a variety of virtual events put together by the WiSTEM leadership team. Events include speaker sessions, panels, and workshops with female STEM professionals, college students, and professors, and are held about once a month for an hour.
Our mentorship program pairs STEM professionals and college students with individual current high school students based on shared interests and goals. Mentors will be meeting with their mentee once or twice a month for a 30 minute Zoom meeting. This will be scheduled based on the mentor and mentee available times and is flexible. If you have any questions about the Mentorship Program, please reach out to Shreya at shreya@womeninstem.org.
WiSTEM’s network of women of all ages, careers, and interests is our most important resource. Being able to connect with other students like you and women in different stages of all STEM fields is a great opportunity for growth and collaboration.
For current chapter leaders:
How do I remove myself or my chapter from the website?
Please email our Website Manager, Firmiana at info@womeninstem.org with the information that you would like removed from our website.
How do I invite a NAC member or one of WiSTEM’s professional contacts to speak to my chapter?
Please email our President, Maddie at maddie@womeninstem.org with some information about which NAC member you would like to get in touch with about an event, as well as what particularly interests your chapter about this speaker.
Where can I find resources to help me with my chapter?
Please refer to the email you received after your onboarding call with a link to our Shared Google Drive. If you have lost this email, please reach out to our Directors of Outreach, Liv and Emily at liv@womeninstem.org and emily@womeninstem.org to request that the link be shared with you again.
Can I publicize an event my chapter is hosting?
Yes, and we encourage you to do so! Please utilize the the #events channel of our Slack to give other WiSTEM chapters a chance to fill out an RSVP form and read a short summary of the event you are hosting. Feel free to DM us on Instagram as well @womeninstem__org to ask if your event can be featured on our social media.
For current chapter members:
How can I get on the WiSTEM email list?
Please ask your chapter leader to forward you the member form. If they have lost this form, please email our Directors of Outreach, Liv and Emily at liv@womeninstem.org and emily@womeninstem.org to request that the link be shared with you.
How can I join the Slack channel to learn about events and new chapters?
Please email our Directors of Outreach, Liv and Emily at liv@womeninstem.org and emily@womeninstem.org to request that they add you to our Slack channel, and remember to turn on your notifications!
For educators and adult community members:
I have a group of girls in my community or high school that are interested in creating a chapter of WiSTEM. What are the next steps?
Please find a student or (usually) up to three students that are interested in becoming ambassadors for WiSTEM and have one of them fill out our “Become an Ambassador” form. They will then be prompted to schedule an onboarding call with one of our Regional Outreach Directors or Directors of Outreach. They should all attend the same call with our representative, so that they all leave the call ready to get started on the same page.
Do I have to come to the onboarding call?
It is not required for educators to come to the onboarding call, but they are welcome to join if they wish! Regardless of their presence, the call will be directed towards the student ambassador.
How can I best advise my students that are leaders of WiSTEM?
Encourage them! Suggest ideas you have for meetings and workshops to show them that you are invested, but ask them about their ideas too. Leave space for them to decide what they would like to do and take note of the general interests in the chapter. Stay in touch with them about their plans and make sure they are sticking to their goals of a certain number of meetings per month and delivering on promises they make to their membership, but don’t be too pushy. WiSTEM should be an alliance of like-minded individuals with similar interests working together to make the STEM field warmer and more inclusive. If being in charge of the chapter becomes a burden, this mission will be compromised. If you see burnout begin to fester in your leadership, encourage them to plan a fun meeting, or enlist an underclassman to do so. Pizza parties or fun experiments can be great bonding moments for a chapter, and can help to keep morale high.
Please do your best to help alleviate some of the stress of abiding by school regulations and policies by being proactive and willing to help on any paperwork. In many clubs, the forms that are required to go on field trips, host guest speakers in-person, or stay at school past a certain time can discourage students from engaging in interesting opportunities. As a faculty advisor, one of your top priorities should be supporting the chapter in this way.
If it is appropriate, offer connections to any professionals or college students that you may know that could be of interest to the chapter as a speaker. Utilizing alumni of a high school or friends of a faculty member can be a great opportunity to grow students’ network and help students find mentorship. At the very least, being able to see women like them find success in the STEM field is enough to encourage students. But don’t do all of the planning for them! Offer an email address and a story and send your student leaders to reach out on their own. This first step to building a connection is another benefit to networking skills.
For potential collaborators:
How can I donate to WiSTEM?
Unfortunately, WiSTEM is still in the process of setting up an official tax-exempt nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3), so we are not currently taking donations. We plan to accept funds in the future to offer to our current chapters for event and infrastructure costs, new chapters for kickstarting their programs and creating interest, and sister projects that our members are working on. Please check back in 2023 for an update on our progress!
How can my organization establish a partnership with WiSTEM?
Please refer to this document to learn more about what WiSTEM can do for you as a partner, what you may be able to offer WiSTEM, and how to go about getting in touch with a WiSTEM representative to talk about a potential partnership.
For female STEM professionals and college students looking to advise:
How can I join the NAC?
Please look through this document to learn more about what WiSTEM is looking for in NAC advisors. Once you have an idea of how you would like to contribute, please email our President, Maddie at maddie@womeninstem.org to request a call to discuss further details. Please also reach out to Maddie if you have a skill that is not explicitly mentioned on this document that you would like to explore the opportunities for.
I filled out the Mentorship Program form, but nobody has gotten back to me. What should I do?
Please wait patiently! Our Director of Development, Shreya pairs each signed up mentee with a professional or collegiate mentor based on their shared interests and the type of advice that the mentee is hoping to receive. If you have any questions about the Mentorship Program, please reach out to Shreya at shreya@womeninstem.org.
What does the commitment look like for being a WiSTEM mentor?
Mentors will be meeting with their mentee once or twice a month for a 30 minute Zoom meeting. This will be scheduled based on the mentor and mentee available times and is flexible.
For those seeking funding:
Unfortunately, WiSTEM is still in the process of setting up an official tax-exempt nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3), so we are not currently offering sponsorships or donations. We plan to accept funds in the future to offer to our current chapters for event and infrastructure costs, new chapters for kickstarting their programs and creating interest, and sister projects that our members are working on. Please check back in late 2023 for an update on our progress!