UW Women's Center Making Connections Program Join Our Community!

Join Our Community!  Our Mission The Making Connections Program started in 1998, assisting low-income and first-generation students with college-readiness and guiding them with their goals through a practical, committed, and mentor-focused approach. Now in its 16th year, Making Connections has increased its cohort of students to 105 students, ranging from 9th-12th graders.  With the ever-growing demand for knowledge in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), young men and women seek access to resources that allow them to hone their skills in these disciplines. For first-generation and low-income students, there has to be a motivation, a keystone, that they can reach out to. This is where Making Connections comes in. Our program connects high school students with mentors, tutors, company and university partnerships, as well as specialized workshops, in order to best support our students' needs. By encouraging students in a focused, year-long mentorship program, Making Connections bridges the divide for students seeking to fulfill their dreams.  Similar college-readiness programs in the nation average a success rate of 60% percent; in 2013-2014, 100% of the Making Connections senior students both graduated from high school and were accepted into college. In addition, students applying for scholarship aid collectively received $426,887. With access to scholarship awards, students are able to utilize the Making Connections program to become exposed to this financial aide. Find out more information about our program here. Want to be involved in what we do? See how below! Become a Mentor! Making Connections is a program that started and is fostered on the concept of mentorship. Students who go through our program are constantly being encouraged and informed by mentors and community partners who care about their success. As a student at the University of Washington, or a community member who would like to be involved in our program, we encourage you to apply to be a mentor. Mentors meet with their select student(s) at a minimum of 4-6 hours a month, guiding them through college-readiness concerns as well as academic support.  Becoming a mentor is a humbling and powerful experience. It is also a challenging one as well. We are looking for mentors who understand the commitment that is involved with taking on a student and assisting them with questions they might have. As a role model, you might have goals similar to theirs, and it always important to reflect on your decisions might impact theirs. In the end, the relationships that are forged through Making Connections last, and mentors attest that they can learn a great deal in addition to their mentee(s).  We have strong retention in our mentorship program--mentors often return to our program to continue working with their students, which is keystone of a strong mentor partnership.  Be a mentor for the 2014-2015 Academic Year! We Are Accepting Applications Now! Learn more about being a mentor in our program here Tutor your Favorite Subject! As part of the Making Connections Program, we facilitate an after-school tutoring program that allows students to come the UW Women's Center to receive advice on various subjects, such as computer science, biology, physics, and math. We also include writing workshops and tutoring, and also deal in the humanities.  Do you like the concept of teaching others? Do you want to brush up on your own skills as a student, while at the same time fostering a relationship and community? Do you want to be involved with providing access and creating social mobility in issues related to higher education? Well then, Come Join Us! We have work study options available to those who need it, and also accept volunteers.  Check it out here Volunteer with Us! If you have other obligations, or just want to find out more about what do, there are always ways to get involved with Making Connections. Being an ally to our program, spreading the word, attending our events, are all ways you become part of the program.  Examples of involvement include a program that has just been initiated by volunteers in our program. They have decided to partner with Making Connections to form a Girls Who Code club; the club meets on a weekly basis, to allow girls in the community to come together and learn how to code. This is just one project that started from interested volunteers.  If you are interested in helping with events, possibly being a Guest Speaker, or you know and want to collaborate on an event with us, we would love to get in contact with you. Want to get involved? Contact us if you have any questions at all. Also, find out more here