Students from Underrepresented Backgrounds Attend Professional Development Brunch

More than 85 Wesleyan students and guests attended the Pathways to Inclusive Education (PIE) professional development brunch on Feb. 8 in Beckham Hall. PIE is a collective of cohort programs whose purpose is to remove obstacles along the pathways to secondary and postsecondary education for students who come from historically underrepresented backgrounds.

The program serves students in ninth grade through their senior year in college.

Hosted by the Office of Equity and Inclusion, participants represented the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Program (McNair Fellows); Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows (MMUF); Wesleyan Mathematics and Science Scholars Program (WesMaSS); Upward Bound Math-Science Program (Upward Bound); and other students of color on campus.

During the brunch, Ruthann Coyote, career advisor at the Gordon Career Center, presented tips on networking, and developing and sharing students’ own “elevator pitches.”

The event was held in preparation for the upcoming annual PIE conference held from 11 to 3 p.m. April 25 in Daniel Family Commons. Titled “Finding Your Path: Navigating Thoughts of Disappointment, Identity, and Career Crisis,” the conference will welcome back alumni from various stages in their careers to speak to students about finding their own career paths.