Program Description:
Roots to Wings (RTW) is a transformative co-mentoring pathway program focused on creating avenues for Indigenous and Latinx learners to enter the STEM and healthcare professions. It involves a collaboration between and among PNWU, the Yakama Nation, Heritage University, Mount Adams School District, and joining us this year, Toppenish School District, Wapato School District, and the Yakima School District. The program pairs Health Professional Students with aspiring young scholars between 6th and 12th grade attending school districts on the Homelands of the Yakama Nation, Yakima Valley and other Indigenous communities in the state of Washington. The healthcare professional students are encouraged to develop a mutual mentorship relationship with the Indigenous, Latinx, and under-resourced students. The healthcre professional students serve as co-mentors on an annual basis for 6-months beginning in November and ending in April. Each session is bi-monthly from 5:15pm – 6:30pm. RTW will be held both virtually and in person throughout the academic year of 2022 - 2023. There may also be an opportunity to serve as a co-mentor in a summer program.
The healthcare professional students’ co-mentoring role with their assigned young scholars are to: develop a safe and trusting relationship; engage in attentive listening, provide a balance between support, challenge, and vision to assist in learning; share personal academic struggles and how they overcame them; study the lesson for each session and be prepared to help the students achieve the goals of the lesson; participate in cultural immersion training; and prepare for each session (1-3 hours).
The skills needed for the program are: excellent communication; humble attitude; truly caring for the future of the next generation of STEM and healthcare professionals; open mindedness; ability to receive constructive criticism; a desire to learn about other cultures and a respect for them; and a kind and helpful attitude coupled with a tremendous desire to be flexible team players.
There are multiple possible benefits of the program, they are: a sense of acquiring knowledge and understanding about Indigenous and Latinx cultural values and traditions; interacting with staff, professors, and young students and thus increasing the ability to communicate with others in different roles; learn first-hand how to share and receive knowledge across cultures. This form of active learning will impact the way the medical student will be present themselves to those from different backgrounds and cultures.
For further information, we recommend viewing the TEDx Yakima presentation of RTW by Dr. Ramos-Diaz (see below). Thank you for your interest in the Roots to Wings Transformative Co-mentoring Program.
Tentative Dates for 2022 - 2023: November, January, February, March, April, and May dates are TBD.
The last session will be the graduation ceremony in either late April or early May 2023.
If you have any further questions on the time commitment or the program in general please feel free to contact RTW Program Coordinator Ms. Breanda Cisneros at bcisneros@pnwu.edu or Dr. Ramos-Diaz at mramosdiaz@pnwu.edu
If you wish to be considered as a co-mentor for this program, please submit your application by November 4th, 2022 end of business day!