Best of CASE District II Award
 

Institution: University of Maryland College Park

Title of entry: Terps Thrive

About this entry: If you ask successful leaders what their key to success was- many of them will tell you, quality mentors. However, studies have shown that certain populations lag behind in mentorship, with limited resources and access to career role models.

Terps Thrive was launched to eliminate this gap, empowering women Terps to support each other in three tracks:
1. Women new to their careers
2. Women of color working in predominately white spaces
3. Women working in male-dominated industries.

When we launched this program, we hoped for 50 mentors and 50 mentees. We sold out of mentorship slots within the first hour of our first email. It was clear this program was not only necessary but important to our alumnae.

This one-month, alumni-to-alumni mentorship program was launched in February and concludes in March with our Women’s Leadership and Development conference. While Terps Thrive members are welcome to join us in person to meet at the conference, the mentorship program is entirely virtual and run through an online platform that sets customized weekly goals, allows mentors and mentees to provide feedback, and is mentee-led.

152 women are engaged in this pilot program armed with a customizable mentorship playbook and the option to attend weekly webinars on topics such “3 Steps to Overcoming Imposter Syndrome” and “5 Mistakes to Avoid as a Young Professional” with experts in their fields.

Together, ambitious Terp women are coming together to support each other, partake in 1:1 mentorship and grow into better versions of themselves.