Future Advancement of Science and Technology

UPDATE: 

A huge thank you to all our supporters for helping us reach our initial goal! We deeply appreciate your donation - your contribution helps nourish our mentees' passion for STEM and has a long-lasting impact on their lives. 

In light of our great, but pleasantly unexpected, success, we've set our intentions on a new stretch goal of $2500 to help support the expansion of FAST into other Bay area school districts. Please help by continuing to spread the word about FAST to support the advancement of science and technology in our communities!    

Future Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST) pairs graduate students in STEM with high school students in nearby districts to provide long-term scientific mentorship. This year-long partnership culminates in a research symposium at Stanford University. Here students not only have the opportunity to present their research, but meet and interact with students from other school districts as well as current graduate students and professors in STEM. 

FAST is designed to assist students from underserved school districts, who would otherwise be unable to explore their curiosity in science and technology. We aim to address the gross lack of diversity in STEM by the active inclusion of historically underrepresented individuals. We provide students with the resources, advisement, and infrastructure necessary to pursue their personal interests in STEM research, this in turn allows graduate students further develop their mentorship skills. Mentees have the opportunity to explore open-ended scientific questions while developing their abilities to collaborate on a team, refine their scientific skills, and gain inspiration for careers in STEM and beyond

FAST was developed by a team of graduate students at Stanford, who began mentoring students in San Jose. The program has since expanded into Hayward, allowing the participation and provision of mentorship by graduate students here at Cal. FAST is a non-profit organization and we hope to continue expanding within the Bay Area and beyond. To help facilitate the provision of resources and growth of our network, we are hoping to raise $2500 USD. These funds will help provide the supplies and resources necessary for student projects, lunches during our long six hour Saturday sessions, and finally transportation to the end-of-year symposium. We are grateful for anything you are able to donate and thank you for your contribution. We also ask that you share our story within your networks in hope of garnering additional support. Lastly, to keep an eye out for our monthly newsletter to stay up to date on all the fun. For further information about the program please visit fast.stanford.edu (Cal website under construction) or email us at berkeleyFAST@gmail.com.

FAST Budget Breakdown