One of Athena's core values is giving back to the STEM community that it has served for 25 years.  Tailor-made mentoring programs open up an exciting and invaluable chapter by advancing and enriching the professional pursuits of emerging STEM leaders. 

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Athena's flagship MentorFest series consists of partner events throughout the year, and culminates with the popular OktoberFest MentorFest annual event that is open to the public.

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"[Athena] has been instrumental in my own personal growth. I know before I met Athena, I was looking for outside mentorship," Simone Bigi of Takeda says (watch here). "It's really the network you get with Athena. I can't speak highly enough about how important [it] has been for me to get those fresh set of eyes on my career and my career trajectory."

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Central to the MentorFest Series is its curated cohort of accomplished STEM leaders who generously share of their time and their career strategies while emphasizing the power of “lifting while climbing.” By strategically pairing the region’s top STEM executives with high potential employees, Athena corporate partners are enriching overall employee engagement and driving home the value of investing in your career, from the outset. 

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According to The WIT Network, companies with employees who have mentors, champions or sponsors in their career see a 72 percent higher retention rate on average, and 27 percent higher job satisfaction, Ms. magazine reports. Those numbers are no surprise—as employees with mentors are six times more likely to see opportunities for promotion, 27 percent more likely to be selected for stretch assignments and receive 25 percent higher pay on average.

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For those STEM executives ready to lift while climbing, contact Sophia@athenaSTEMwomen.org to volunteer as an Athena Mentor. For companies interested in accessing this employee enrichment program, contact Holly@athenaSTEMwomen.org.