UND Women in Science kicks off with inaugural meeting Wednesday, April 27

UND Women in Science (UNDWIS), a new student group, will kick off its inaugural season Wednesday, April 27, with a meeting from 3:45 to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Badlands Room. Light refreshments will be provided by the Graduate School.

Korey Southerland, a senior who’s double-majoring in environmental geography and political science and minoring in math, said Women in Science at UND is first and foremost a student group. As the group’s first president, Southerland says men are welcome, too.

Gretchen Mullendore, an Atmospheric Sciences severe storm and climate change researcher and WIS faculty advisor, sees UND Women in Science as a place where women can network and mentor and support each other in dealing with both general and specific issues relating to their professions, their careers, and their personal goals and objectives.

A key goal of UND Women in Science is to encourage women to mentor each other.

“Mentoring is really all about having good discussions with people in your field, people who care about the same things that you do,” Mullendore said. “It’s about being able to share experiences so that you can know that other people have thought about these things, and maybe they’ve found some ways to deal with challenges that arise.”

UND Women in Science–with both student and faculty executive boards comprising women from several science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career tracks–is open to anyone in any major, or any faculty or staff interested in this opportunity to encourage women in STEM areas.

Please join UND Women in Science for its inaugural meeting for an introduction to the group and discussion about future activities.

Please contact undwis@gmail.com for more information.

— Juan Miguel Pedraza, writer/editor, University Relations, 777-6571, juan.pedraza@email.und.edu.