This past Saturday, Women in International Relations (WIIR) hosted their Mentor and Mentee (M&M) kickoff event! (WIIR )is a recently founded organization committed to exploring opportunities for women in international relations (IR) and strengthening the IR female community at Tufts. They strive to build a safe space for dialogue, empowerment and career building through education, mentorship, and networking opportunities.
The Women in International Relations Mentor and Mentee event is a way for first- and second-year students interested in international relations (IR) to get connected with a junior or senior in IR or related fields.
Women in IR paired freshmen and sophomores with upperclassmen. The mentors will serve to provide advice for underclassmen about courses, programs at Tufts, summer internships, and any other information.
At the unveiling event, mentorship pairs played fun getting-to-know-you games. Co-presidents Haruka Noishiki and Frankie Michielli spoke to the group about the importance of supporting femme-identifying people in the IR field and ideas for mentorship pairs to stay in contact throughout the semester.
The mentorship program is a great way to encourage and support women interested in the field. Actively supporting, sponsoring and guiding the careers of women as they progress is a critical element of success. The day ended off with an IR-themed Kahoot. Mentorship pairs will now meet throughout the semester.