An Exploratory Study on Post-Secondary STEM Mentorship Within Student Organizations

In this qualitative research paper, post-secondary student views of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) mentorship within student organizations are investigated towards illustrating what mentorship looks like within this context. Effective mentorship is crucial for shaping the future STEM workforce as it can enhance diversity and inclusion, which foster innovation and creativity. This exploratory study focuses on the intersection between mentorship during post-secondary education, which is often overlooked compared to youth and professional mentorship, and student organizations, which are likewise understudied. The overarching study aims to reveal what types of student organizations incorporate mentorship, the activities that support it, and its effectiveness in fostering positive STEM outcomes, as well as the kinds of mentoring relationships that are forming in these spaces. Data was collected through one-on-one interviews with students from various student organizations at a large, public, predominantly white institution (PWI) with very high research activity in the Southeastern United States. This data was catalogued, quantified, and visualized to reveal the current landscape of STEM mentoring within post-secondary student organizations. These findings aim to enhance understanding of STEM mentorship in the context of student organizations while laying the groundwork for further research on the role of mentorship in STEM education.