\nChloe was driven to join by her love of volunteering and her excitement to work with an organization that aligns closely with her values. The clear communication and strong support from the SCFG liaisons made getting involved easy and made the experience very welcoming. For Chloe, each club day started well before the girls arrived. The day before a session, she would receive pre-club notes and curriculum from the program manager, outlining the week\u2019s topic. The curriculum aligned closely with Chloe\u2019s interests and academic background, like human anatomy. The materials were thoughtfully designed, including background explanations, suggested scripts, spotlights on women in STEM, and hands-on activities that encouraged creativity and curiosity.
\nOn club days, Chloe and her fellow mentors would review the plan together, deciding what to emphasize or adapt based on their group of students. They often \u201cspeed-ran\u201d activities themselves, creating example models to demonstrate later. During the hour-long session, they introduced the topic, gauged the girls\u2019 understanding, and guided them through interactive crafts and experiments. Sometimes the planned activities were too easy for the older students, so the mentors improvised enrichment activities to keep everyone engaged.
\nThere were many moments from this experience that stayed with Chloe. At the end of each session, the girls had a ritual of hugging their mentor\u2019s goodbye before pickup. \u201cThat was really sweet,\u201d she shared. These connections built lasting memories for both the mentors and the students involved!<\/p>\n
Lisa<\/strong> Skills Developed<\/strong> Conclusion<\/strong> This past semester, two GPGG students, Chloe and Lisa, spent their afternoons mentoring young girls through Science Club for Girls (SCFG). Though they volunteered at different sites and worked with different age groups, it was clear that the experience was as meaningful for the mentors as it was for the students. Chloe Chloe was driven […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23236,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1907,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gpgg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3007"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gpgg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gpgg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gpgg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23236"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gpgg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3007"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gpgg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3016,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gpgg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3007\/revisions\/3016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gpgg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gpgg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gpgg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nLisa\u2019s path to SCFG was driven by reflection on her own educational journey. Although she had studied biology from a young age, it wasn\u2019t until high school, where she had a teacher who was truly passionate and engaging, that she seriously considered science and medicine as a career. She often wondered how different things might have been if she\u2019d had that exposure earlier. Volunteering with SCFG felt like a chance to be that spark for someone else, especially for girls from underserved communities. Lisa mentioned, \u201cSCFG has a well thought-through curriculum that includes the use of analogies to explain complex concepts in a simple way and activities that are a fun way for students to reinforce what they learn. I believe the program is very precious to the community.\u201d
\nLisa volunteered with third graders, beginning each session by preparing alongside fellow volunteers to assign roles and plan the lesson\u2019s flow. The hour with students featured a question of the day, a spotlight on a STEM professional, such as a cardiologist, an introduction to the topic, and several hands-on activities that visually brought complex concepts to life in accessible ways.
\nLisa mentioned that working with a team of like-minded volunteers made the experience especially rewarding. They all drew on one another\u2019s strengths and supported each other throughout each session. Lisa was inspired by an undergraduate volunteer\u2019s natural ability to
\nconnect with students, especially her effort to learn every child\u2019s name, which reinforced how meaningful these small connections can be. Especially in a lively classroom of 15 third graders.<\/p>\n
\nBoth Chloe and Lisa emphasized how much they gained from working alongside diverse teams of volunteers. Chloe collaborated with mentors from big pharma, environmental justice, and undergraduate programs, learning how science is applied across different careers. Lisa\u2019s team included an undergraduate student, a junior mentor who was herself an SCFG alum, and a medical radiologist. Everyone involved provided a unique point of view and helped create a well-structured program for SCFG to operate.
\nThrough their time with Science Club for Girls, both Chloe and Lisa developed skills that strengthened their identities as scientists and mentors. Chloe learned the importance of leading with enthusiasm and patience, especially when working with students who were initially disengaged or skeptical. By modeling genuine curiosity and taking the time to sit alongside students, she saw that passion and persistence could reignite interest among the students. The experience reinforced how critical it is to translate complex science into accessible, engaging lessons for younger audiences. This helped Chloe translate her graduate work to every level, allowing her to approach any audience she was presented with.
\nLisa strengthened her organizational, leadership, and mentorship skills by working collaboratively to manage and guide a classroom of students. Coordinating activities with fellow volunteers and supporting a large group of third graders helped her grow as a leader. Lisa expects to carry these skills into mentoring undergraduate students in a lab setting. She also refined her ability to break down complicated scientific concepts into clear, digestible explanations, improving her effectiveness as a presenter and her ability to hold an audience\u2019s attention. Together, these experiences highlighted how teaching science at an early level sharpens communication, leadership, and teamwork skills that extend far beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n
\nSCFG provided both Chloe and Lisa with lasting memories. Chloe highlighted, \u201cThe guidance SCFG provided for first-time mentors was remarkable. It calmed my nerves about forgetting my anatomy for the curriculum, and having co-mentors helped a lot. Please consider volunteering for them!\u201d Finally, Lisa highlighted, \u201cSCFG is an amazing organization and I believe they are doing a very important job engaging girls from underserved communities from young age to STEM and giving women opportunities to have a STEM-related career.\u201d To anyone considering volunteering, both have the same advice: do it. The commitment is manageable, the support is exceptional, and the reward is immeasurable!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/gpgg\/files\/2026\/01\/chloe-411x300.png\")
\n![\"\"](\"\/gpgg\/files\/2026\/01\/chloe-li-650x239.png\")
\n![\"\"](\"\/gpgg\/files\/2026\/01\/li-264x300.png\")
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