The NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES Initiative: TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance convening, *Some Assembly Required, was the alliance’s first in-person convening held from 29 March – 31 March at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The convening brought together 71 alliance members, including students, faculty mentors, project investigators, and leadership, that represented 22 of the 31 alliance institutions and a diverse range of majors, roles, and disciplines.
Organized with support from the National Science Foundation, *Some Assembly Required
focused on collective impact and collaboration through sharing ideas, knowledge, and strategies that empower and support students with disabilities, broaden pathways to success, overcome obstacles, promote inclusivity, and strengthen community. Sessions featured a range of topics including accessibility of learning environments; advancing equity diversity, and inclusion in post-secondary institutions; understanding student-professor communication; storytelling; managing stress and anxiety; and transitioning into the workforce.
Topics
Related to the goals of the TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance, convening topics included:
- Building empowerment pathways for our students, institutions, and partners
- Supporting success and inclusion for students with disabilities at each juncture of their STEM journey from college to career
- Building our social capital to create lasting and productive changes
- Sharing strategies for offering inclusive academic and student affairs programming
