Last week’s undergraduate/graduate mentoring dinner went extremely well! We had 30 attendees and received positive feedback about the speed elevator pitch activity, in which students were asked to give their short “elevator pitch” (what you would tell someone about your research if you met them on a long elevator ride) to other students. Students were nervous at first but after a couple rotations around the room everyone felt more comfortable and confident giving their pitches. Many undergrads made connections with grad students and will likely be in contact with them after the event.
Attendees learned what an elevator pitch is and when they can use one (networking, career fairs, job interviews, etc). We practiced our pitches on each other in a speed dating style between undergrads and grad students and gave each other feedback and suggestions on how to improve our pitches. The activity was followed by dinner from Panera and informal mingling and discussion between grad students and undergrads.
This dinner is part of a series of undergraduate and graduate dinners sponsored by the Women for UMass Fund. Future mentoring dinners this semester will be March 12th and April 22nd.
