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STEM Peer Mentoring 2024-2025

Taylor Mather, 1428A

taylorm@bigbend.edu, 509-793-2038

 

Purpose of the Course

The purpose of the STEM Peer Mentoring program is to connect you with a Big Bend graduate who has transferred to a 4-year institution in pursuit of a STEM degree. Having gone through many of the same STEM classes you are currently taking, they can share their own experiences and what helped them succeed in their time here. Now that they are at a 4-year institution, they can answer your questions about the transfer process, what they looked for when choosing a transfer school, and how classes are different at their institution when compared to BBCC. We have a diverse group of Peer Mentors pursuing different degrees at different schools in Washington who are all eager to provide you with assistance and guidance in this process. We will do our best to pair you with a peer mentor based on your planned degree and/or your preferred institution.

The Peer Mentors

Alice Chamberlin - My name is Alice Chamberlin. I was born in Washington, and I attended Ephrata High School while doing Running Start at Big Bend. I attended Big Bend for two years from Fall 2022-2024 and earned my Arts and Sciences Associates/Direct Transfer Agreement. I transferred to Eastern Washington University where I will be pursuing a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry.

I had a lot of support while I was at Big Bend, and I became a peer mentor so I could help give back to the community and students at Big Bend. I love the STEM field, and I hope to help other students find joy and opportunity in it as well!

Cesar Chavez - Hi, my name is Cesar Chavez, and I grew up in Moses Lake. I completed the Running Start program at Big Bend Community College from 2022 to 2024, earning an Associate of Science degree.  During my time there, I enjoyed being part of the Chess Club. I recommend it to anyone seeking a fun hobby! I am now transferring to the University of Washington to study Materials Science and Engineering. My mentors have helped guide me, and I look forward to sharing some of my experiences with mentees!

Cooper Cox - Hey, my name is Cooper. I’m currently a first year at Washington State University studying Mechanical Engineering. I am also working on minors in Mathematics and Materials Science and Engineering. I grew up in Warden, Washington, and graduated from Warden High School and Big Bend this past June. I graduated with my Associate of Science Transfer Track 2, specialized in engineering. I plan to graduate WSU in 2027.

I decided to be a STEM Mentor for TRIO because I enjoy the field of STEM, and getting others excited about the possibilities of STEM. I enjoy learning new STEM topics that build on already established knowledge. I like learning why the things that we learn work. I want to help other students understand the field of STEM and why I find it so amazing. I realize how difficult the STEM field can be, so I want to provide a solid support for any students that need it.

Celeste LaPlace - Hi! My name is Celeste, and I go by Cece. I grew up near the Grand Coulee Dam area where I went to school from K-12. In my junior year, I decided to enter the running start program which led me to Big Bend. I graduated in Spring 2024 with my AS-T in Pre-Biology and am now majoring in Chemistry at CWU with a minor in Biology and Math. I decided to be a STEM Peer Mentor because I want to support mentees throughout their academic journeys and give back to the community that helped me so much. I hope my mentorship will enable students to achieve their STEM goals.

 

Meeting Procedures

Meetings will take place via Zoom and will last approximately 1 hour. The meetings will consist of checking in with your peer mentor, going over that meeting’s assigned topic, and then finishing with any questions you may want to ask your peer mentor. The goal is to meet with your peer mentor 5 times each quarter, meeting twice a month except for the last month of the quarter to accommodate breaks in the academic calendar. This 5 th meeting each quarter is optional to allow for time to study for finals, if necessary, but if you can work it in to schedule, we highly recommend that you do so. The topic for this last meeting is open for you to decide with your peer mentor. You can go back to a previous meeting topic that you either enjoyed or did not feel like you got to spend enough time on, you can make up for an earlier missed meeting, or you can simply just have an open conversation with your peer mentor about anything on your mind.

We encourage you to attend as many meetings with your mentor as possible, and to help incentivize this, students that have attended 7 meetings by the end of Winter quarter will be eligible to go on a special Cultural Experience trip. More details of this trip can be found towards the end of this syllabus. 

The Meetings

What follows are the weekly meeting topics for each quarter. If you are starting the Peer Mentoring program in your winter quarter, there is an alternative meeting schedule that eliminates some of these topics but should still provide a full and enriching experience. More information about these topics and accompanying videos and materials can be found on the BBCC Website on the STEM Peer Mentoring section of the TRIO SSS Page.

Fall Quarter
Winter Quarter
Spring Quarter
Cultural Experience Opportunity

Students that attend 7 meetings with their mentor by the end of the winter quarter can go on a field trip for a cultural event in the spring quarter. The date, time, and location will be determined later, but we will try to make it focused on the STEM field.