KWiSE Mentoring Dinner “Opportunities for Students” was held at the University of Maryland College Park on October 3, 2014.

On October 3rd, 2014, the first Mentoring Dinner “Opportunities for Students” was held in the Prince George’s room of the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland. Korean student organizations at the University of Maryland, Korean International Student Association (KISA) and Korean Business and Economics Student Association (KBESA), organized the event with the help of Korean-American Women in Science and Engineering (KWiSE), Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) Washington Metro Chapter, and Center for East Asian Studies. About 60 Korean undergraduate students and Korean professionals of various fields gathered to promote Korean professional and academic networking by dining and having conversations together.

Mentors and mentees were grouped together at pre-assigned tables. Seat assignments were based on mentors’ professional backgrounds and students’ majors so the students could easily access mentors in their career fields of interests. The event started by introducing each mentor’s name and professional affiliation. During the dinner, mentors shared their experiences with undergraduate students through stimulating conversations. These were very encouraging because students could identify themselves with mentors culturally and academically, and they realized that the professionals also had gone through many obstacles that students face today.

After dinner, speakers from various organizations introduced their organizations and presented opportunities for scholarship, awards, internships and volunteering programs. The President of KWiSE, Prof. Eun-Suk Seo, presented KSEA/KWISE/KUSCO opportunities for students. She also gave an example of internship opportunities at the University of Maryland. This was followed by Internship Opportunities at NASA presented by Ruth Cater, Advanced Concept Manager, Code 470, NASA GSFC. Dr. Myong-Hee Sung, Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH), presented Internship Opportunities at NIH. A Vice President of KWiSE, Dr. Hae-Young An, Deputy Director, Division of Clinical Pharmacology 3, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), presented Internship Opportunities at FDA. The KWiSE Greater DC Chapter President, Dr. Eun Ju Cheong, Horticulturist, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), presented Internship Opportunities at USDA. Finally, Prof. Bryan Kim, Georgetown University, presented Exercise Research, Minority Health, and Cancer Prevention and Control. The Mentoring Dinner was a great success. It was a big step toward our ultimate goal to establish a strong network between undergraduate students and professionals in the Korean community for an active and effective mentorship.

Contributed by Ms. Haewon Han, Nutrition and Food Science,
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742