Ziva Myer Mentors Women and Minority Students to Achieve Success in Graduate Math Programs

Ziva Myer, Ph.D. Candidate in Mathematics spent the month of June as a graduate mentor for the EDGE program - Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education - at Howard University. The EDGE Program, funded primarily by the National Science Foundation, is designed to support women and minority students complete graduate programs in the mathematical sciences and become leaders in the field. Bryn Mawr College is one of seven sponsoring organizations.

The EDGE Summer Program provides intensive training to a small group of women from various backgrounds who are about to start math PhD programs. Graduate mentors like Ziva help by assisting these students with their condensed summer courses and by sharing experiences of grad school. As Ziva explains:

"During the summer program the participants focus on an intensive course load and get constant personal feedback on their writing. This helps them hone their mathematical skills and prepares them for the intensity of their first year of graduate school. EDGE supports participants financially with a stipend as well as an additional allotment during their first year of graduate school for books, travel, etc. Most importantly, EDGE sets women up with a strong network of mentors within the community of women mathematicians – a network that endures after graduate school.”

Group selfie with Francis Su and EDGE participants — Group Selfie with Francis Su, president of the Mathematical Association of America

The EDGE program aims to empower women to become visible leaders in the mathematics field and to increase diversity as a means of strengthening US competitiveness in an ever-globalizing world. Ziva notes that “mathematics is still a male-dominated field. There are many math PhD programs that do not provide a supportive environment for women, and women mathematicians of color find even less support.”

Of special note, one of the participants at this year’s summer program was recent Bryn Mawr grad Orsola Capovilla-Searle.

For more information about the many ways EDGE is supporting women and minority students achieve success in mathematical careers, visit their website. There you will find a record of their outcomes with hard statistics on how EDGE has helped women succeed in graduate school.

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