WISER SEMINAR - First year WISeR students take a 1 credit WISeR seminar "On Being a Scientist". The seminar is aimed to help you learn how to talk about science: we read scientific articles and news reports of scientific research and discuss them both in terms of the quality of the science and their wider implications. The class is fun and is a good opportunity to meet faculty because we often invite guest faculty to attend.

"i would definitely keep the class. i think it is nice to have an open forum where women don't feel pressured. i feel that we get to be more honest and a bit more emotional. it is very personal and it is nice to be able to express that in a class."

WISER MENTORING - First year WISeR students participate in a mentoring program in which they are matched up with third-year and fourth-year women science majors. These student mentors will help you navigate the CWRU system with advice on classes, professors, research internships, dorm life, you name it.

"I want to do my best to stay in touch with my mentor because we moved beyond the simple mentor/mentee relationship and into an actual friendship, which is not something that I want to lose."

"My mentor and I got along very well from the beginning and she has great advice for the future. She helped with all sorts of academic advice from how to take a particular type of test to what classes to take."

WISER WORKSHOPS - First year students and their mentors will attend monthly workshops. These workshops are designed to stimulate discussion and thought about some of the issues related to being a woman in science and to help build skills for success in the university and beyond. Workshops last year included such topics as:

• Great Expectations - what to expect from a university education

  
  

• Research as an undergraduate - how to find, and what to expect from a summer or mid-year research internship

  
  

• Classroom Climate - an examination of some of the subtle inequities found in elementary, high school and college classrooms that can progressively silence women, and some strategies to find and use your voice.

  
  

• Banishing Fear - strategies for studying, finals, job searches etc

"I appreciate the fact that in WISER, I never feel the attitude that women in science are just poor victims of a male-dominated field. The focus isn't even always on the fact that we're women-- it's on the fact that we're scientists together."

"I would leave the style of "On Being A Scientist" exactly the same, that was wonderful. The programs were fun too and it was great to get to know such a wonderful group of women scientists."

WISER ROOM - WISeR students will be able to gather and meet in their own WISeR room. The room is centrally located on campus, and set up for conversation, napping, and working. It also has computers and a printer available specifically for student use.

SAGES - We recommend that WISeR students apply to participate in the new SAGES program, which is an alternative approach to satisfy the university's General Education Requirement. The SAGES program provides smaller classes and more personalized advising and is another excellent way to get more out of your CWRU education. However, this year it is open to only 150 students selected to represent full spectrum of the university in terms of educational interests, background, race, etc. WISeR cannot guarantee admittance to SAGES, but we strongly recommend that you apply. Look for a packet with more information about SAGES in the mail in early June. You can also learn more about the program from its webpage at http://www.cwru.edu/sages.