For Annette Raigoza, it’s way of paying things forward.
The associate professor of chemistry at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University also serves as the director of CSB’s Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) program.
The program – now in its third year – was established by the CSB institutional advancement team. It provides scholarships to students who plan to major in one of six eligible academic fields at CSB and SJU (biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, data science, mathematics and physics).
This year’s cohort is made up of 23 students – 12 in chemistry or biochemistry, seven in computer science or data science, one in math and three in physics.
“We’re supporting students in majors where women haven’t always been strongly represented,” Raigoza said. “But we know they’re talented and capable of excelling.
“It’s a program I wanted to be involved with because I felt like it was a way to extend forward all the support and mentorship I received when I was a student. I was first-generation. I was the first member of my family to get a graduate degree. But were it not for the interaction I had with faculty members, and the support I received from institutions, I wouldn’t be here.”
Raigoza said the program is already yielding an increase in CSB students, at least in the chemistry and biochemistry major, and she’s excited to see numbers continuing to grow in other areas as well.
“We’ve had high numbers in chemistry and biochemistry since the program started,” she said. “But this year, we’re really seeing this numbers start to balance out with increases in other majors, too.
“And I expect that’s a trend that will continue as we go forward.”
Raigoza said it’s a trend that’s been helped by the work of an advisory committee made up of faculty from each of the different majors the program covers. That committee consists of: Kris Nairn (math), Jim Crumley (physics), Heather Amthauer (computer science) and Alicia Peterson (chemistry).
“That committee has been helping to shape the program from the beginning,” Raigoza said.