When I joined the 2026 January – May Stemettes mentoring cohort for the first time, I understood then what an incredible programme it is and how privileged I am to have been a part of it. Stemettes encourages young women and non-binary people to harness their gift of curiosity and their passion for STEM, using it to bolster their career, network with people in their aspiring field and to explore their curiosity vastly.
I was extremely lucky to be paired with a ‘kindred spirit’ like Fair Metcalfe who was my mentor during these months. During those eight hours which were spread across many weekends from January to May, we discussed everything from my future plans in education and the workforce, to CV writing to ethical debates. Of course we had fun comparing our experiences of living in the North and South of the United Kingdom and picking up terminology that we’ve never come across such as the Northern phrase ‘shy bairns get nowt’. Usually we called every fortnight and I am entirely grateful for her expertise and interest in the psychological field which is something I have taken a strong interest in.
Five Pieces of advice from a Mentee
- Be Curious About Everything. You never know what doors may open solely by you asking questions and being engaged. Always keep this idea in the back of your mind: every question leads to a gain in knowledge.
- Attend all your meetings (or as many as you can!) Stemettes is such a brilliant programme and as you only have five months of set time of calling your designated mentor, it would be a shame not to make the most out of it- especially if you can use their experience to hone in on your own interests. You may have more in common with your mentor than you might imagine.
- Have a framework of what you might want to discuss with your mentor each meeting. Having a written plan or even an idea in your head about what you might want to talk about with your mentor will make the short time you have with them feel productive because you are actively working towards making your desired future more attainable.
- Be as involved as you can with Stemettes. Whether through joining their community networking calls between fellow mentees or taking advantage of their CV services, Stemettes is such a great way to understand more about your priorities and the kind of people you want to form professional connections with.
- Have Fun!
Being part of such a lovely and supportive community in Stemettes makes the five months go by so quickly. Receiving one-on-one advice and support from another woman who is working in the same or similar field to what you want to work in, gives you such a motivating but also encouraging perspective because suddenly you realise they are living the life you want to lead and it is possible to attain that goal. Additionally, talking to someone who has gone down the path you want to follow is also a great way of realising that not all paths are linear and instead there are so many different routes you can take to end up at the same place.
Meeting mentees around a similar age to you also gives such a homely and welcoming feeling because you are all going through similar stages of the education system, dealing with the same pressures and expectations but also all of you have the drive to build on your passion past a classroom.
This article was written by Elika Dutta – connect with Elika on LinkedIn here!
