Minority Group Challenges

Words: 824
Pages: 4

Living in the United States as a woman from a minority race allowed me to understand the diverse students’ needs, fears, and challenges as well as the several barriers faced by such a minority group in joining science and STEM fields. I believe that the most notable challenges diverse students face include: 1) the sense of not belonging as well as the lack of emotional and financial support from institutions, peers, and family; 2) the lack of self-confidence that discourages many of them to purse a STEM career; 3) the lack of information regarding financial aid opportunities and the preparatory steps for entering college; and 4) the lack of female and diverse role models, who can provide a strong motivation for diverse students during their …show more content…
Section 1 briefly describes my past efforts in mitigating these challenges. Section 2 presents future plans to improve the recruitment and retention of diverse students in the University of New Orleans.

My recognition of diverse’ students challenges, along with my strong passion for science and technology, motivated me to be an active member of different programs that encourage women and minority groups to pursue college degrees in STEM fields. As a graduate student the University of South Florida, I have been involved in different organizations such as the AMEA (Arab/Middle Eastern Association), NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers), and Undocumented. In particular, I have worked with AMEA and NSBE to outreach high school minority students (i.e., Palestinian, Syrian, and black women), encourage them to pursue a STEM degree, teach them about possible opportunities. I have also worked with these organizations to
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% Building upon my experiences in my graduate career thus far, I have many specific ideas which I plan to enact in the future as part of my dedication to building and maintaining diversity on the university campus. I would like to become involved in diversity initiatives on campus in the following ways:

Building upon my experiences as a graduate student, I would like to develop and/or expand programs that embrace and promote diversity on UNO campus. For example, I plan to develop and/or expand summer programs that focus on preparing high school students for university, exposing these students to different research projects, and allowing them to establish a connection with senior students and professors. Such programs can make the transition to the university smoother and allow students to find mentors and