Volunteer to be a mentor at the AAAS meeting
The NASW Education Committee is again sponsoring its annual mentoring program during the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Jose, Feb. 12-16, and we are inviting veteran writers to volunteer as mentors. We will pair mentors with students in graduate science writing programs or with undergraduates who have demonstrated a serious interest in science journalism.
If you would like to help, please complete the form below and copy it into a separate email to mentor@nasw.org with “2015 AAAS mentor” as the subject line. Please also note your availability at the AAAS meeting and your background, and we'll assign a student to you before the meeting starts. Please let us know if you would like to be a mentor as soon as possible, preferably by Jan. 26.
Mentors and students will gather for an orientation session at the AAAS meeting on Friday, Feb. 13, at 4 p.m. If you can't make that gathering, it’s okay to contact your student in advance and arrange when to meet.
Mentors have traditionally had their students shadow them for a day or half-day, showing them how they select talks and press conferences for coverage. That said, your involvement is totally up to you; if you prefer, you can have lunch or breakfast with your student and be available for questions throughout the meeting, or find some other way to help. We welcome staff journalists, PIOs, and freelancers — careers of all stripes are useful as models for the students.
Many former mentees are now regular mentors because they found the program so inspiring. Please help NASW continue this valuable tradition.
We aim to pair mentors and mentees who have similar areas of interest. We'll make our pairings about one week prior to AAAS.
Thank you and see you in San Jose!
Ashley Yeager and Czerne Reid, Education Committee co-chairs
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This brief form will help us match you with a new science writer with interests similar to your own. Please complete the form below and copy it into a new email to mentor@nasw.org with “2015 AAAS mentor” as the subject line.
YES! I'LL BE A MENTOR!!
Name: _________________________________
Affiliation: _________________________________
Phone: _________________________________
Email: _________________________________
Website: _________________________________
My preferred days to mentor are: ___Fri ___Sat ___Sun
Current position and responsibilities:
Science field(s) of particular interest:
Will you be filing stories from the annual meeting or working media conferences? ________
Briefly, my background is (include educational training, a summary of positions held, etc.):
Have you been a mentor before? If so, when?
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Students: Do you want a mentor at the AAAS meeting?
Are you a student looking for guidance on how to establish a career in science writing? Are you curious about how senior science writers do their jobs? Here's your chance to find out through the NASW Mentoring Program, which pairs science writing students with established science journalists and public information officers during the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting. This year's meeting is February 12-16 in San Jose, California.
The application deadline is Monday, Jan. 26. To apply, cut and paste the form below into an e-mail message, complete it and send it to mentor@nasw.org with “2015 AAAS mentee application” as the subject line. Please do not reply to this message.
Applicants selected to participate must attend an orientation in San Jose from 4 to 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13. The mentoring program does not provide funding for travel to AAAS.
The program is limited by the number of mentors who volunteer. Participants are selected by the co-chairs of the NASW Education Committee, and spots generally are assigned in the order in which applications are received.
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE REGULAR MEMBERS OR STUDENT MEMBERS OF NASW BY FEB. 1. Please go to www.nasw.org to apply for membership. Contact the committee at mentor@nasw.org if you have questions about membership.
Mentors and mentees will decide together how to spend their time. Some mentors may ask students to shadow them for a day or half-day, showing them how they select talks and press conferences for coverage. Others may choose to have lunch or breakfast with their young writer and be available for questions throughout the meeting.
To gain access to press-only areas at the meeting, students must register separately with AAAS here: http://registration3.experientevent.com/showAAA151/. (Click the Newsroom option).
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YES! I'D LIKE TO HAVE AN NASW MENTOR!
Note: All information is required! Incomplete applications will not be considered. Deadline is Jan. 26.
Name: ______________________________________
Institution: ___________________________________
Cell phone: __________________________________
Email: ____________________________________
____ I am a member of NASW.
My preference is for my mentoring to occur: Fri ____ Sat ____ Sun ____
I would prefer a:
University/public relations mentor _____
Journalist mentor _______ Specify newspaper, magazine, broadcast, online and/or freelance: _______________
(Note: We strive to make close matches, but we cannot guarantee you will get the type of mentor you request.)
Science field(s) of particular interest:
My writing experience is:
___ None
___ Class work only
___ 1-3 published articles/broadcast stories/news releases
___ 4+ published articles/broadcast stories/news releases
___ Blogging regularly about science
If you blog, please provide your blog's URL:
What do you expect from your mentor? (check all that apply)
____ Networking
____ Specific career advice
____ A journalist/public relations day-in-the-life
____ Introductions to editors for freelance work
____ Other? (please specify)
Please include below a brief summary of your educational and professional background. You may also include writing samples. Web links are preferred. If your writing samples, tapes or other media cannot be transmitted electronically, please describe the work.
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