2025 RAISE Up Inclusive STEM Retreat

2025 program now available! (2/13/25)

This retreat aims to equip, empower and energize participants for their academic and professional paths in STEM through interactive sessions and dynamic networking opportunities to promote a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive STEM community. All students, faculty and staff are welcome to attend.

Mission Statement: The goal of the retreat is to educate, empower, and inspire Lafayette students, faculty, and staff by offering dynamic and interactive programming with workshops, networking opportunities, and alumni panels.

Retreat Program

11:45-1:15  Lunch & Keynote Speaker – Marquis Dining Hall

We’re thrilled to share that our keynote speaker will be Dr. Kenneth F. Harris II. Dr. Harris is a Senior Project Engineer for The Aerospace Corporation, contributing to both DoD and NASA payload missions. Named one of the “30 under 30” by Forbes Magazine, he is recognized as one of the world’s youngest and most influential individuals in science. Dr. Harris is known for delivering thoughtful and dynamic leadership on programs of critical national and international importance and he is one of the youngest African Americans in NASA’s history to lead an integration effort on a multi-billion-dollar satellite mission. We’re excited for you to meet Dr. Harris at the retreat and experience firsthand the insights of this trailblazer in STEM!

Concurrent Sessions in RISC

1:30-2:10    Workshop Session I

• A Conversation with Dr. Kenneth Harris
• STEMulating Financial Success (Organized by Women in Economics and the Kovalevsky Society)
• STEM and Self Advocacy: Claiming Your Space, Shaping Your Future (Organized by Out in STEM and Society of Women Engineers)

2:10-2:20     Break 

2:20-3:00    Workshop Session II

• Breaking Barriers: POC in STEM (Organized by the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers)
• Being an Upstander: Navigating Microaggressions (Organized by the Society of Women Engineers and Kovalesky Society)
• Career Clarity: Mapping Diverse Paths to Success (Organized by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers)
• Redefining Excellence: Letting Go of Perfectionism in STEM: (Organized by Out in STEM and Women in Economics)

3:00-3:10     Break 

3:10-3:50    Hot Seat Sessions with Alumni in STEM

3:50-4:00     Break

4:00-4:45    RAISE a Glass and Poster Session 

• Posters on Research Studies and Innovation Initiatives
• Resource Booths: Gateway Career Center, Scholarships and Fellowships in STEM, Hanson Center for Inclusive STEM Education, and more!
• Networking Opportunities
• Mocktails and Appetizers