COGA MIG Leader Mentoring Program for DPD 2021 Graduates Who Did Not Match a Dietetic Internship
Background:
The Cultures of Gender and Age (COGA) Member Interest Group (MIG) was funded by an Academy Membership Outreach Grant 2021 to conduct its program titled “COGA MIG Leader Mentoring Program for DPD 2021 Graduates Who Did Not Match a Dietetic Internship.” This virtual program provides mentoring by COGA leaders to four (4) 2021 DPD graduates who did not match a dietetic internship to help equip them to become future service leaders in the Academy at the national, affiliate, and/or district/regional level. Each mentee will gain experience volunteering within COGA for 9 months (September 2021–May 2022). The time commitment per mentee is about 5 hours per month (45 hours total).
Roles and Responsibilities of Mentees:
Each mentee selected from the following 10 interest areas within COGA to create their COGA leader–mentor experience: Past-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Nominating/Awards, Professional Development, Diversity/Inclusion, Newsletter, Website, House of Delegates’ Delegate and Networking. Each mentee rank ordered their top 5 interest areas. COGA created a schedule to allow each mentee to gain 3 months of mentoring in each of 3 of their top 5 interest areas. Each mentee is required to:
- attend the COGA Executive Committee monthly virtual meetings (one hour - virtual, 6-7pm CT on the 2nd Wednesday of each month),
- post a summary of each 3-month mentoring period to the COGA Discussion Board (3 posts total),
- complete an electronic Leader–Mentor Diary for each month to indicate the interest area, hours completed, activities, and one key point to remember, and
- submit their Leader–Mentor Diary by June 1, 2022.
How does this mentoring program benefit mentees?
Each mentee
- had their Academy membership dues paid (or reimbursed) for one year and COGA MIG membership dues paid (or reimbursed) for one year;
- is obtaining inclusive connections in COGA;
- is meeting and networking with dietetic professionals across gender, age, and lived experience;
- is receiving professional leadership mentoring - an impressive 45 hour experience to include on future dietetic internship/scholarship applications.
Mentees agreed to the roles and responsibilities described previously, and to have their names and headshot photos shared, for example, in the COGA e-newsletter, COGA social media, and COGA website, and with the Academy (for payment of student dues).
Mentees of the COGA Leader Mentoring Program 2021-2022 are Noura Diwouta, Brenda Reddy, Emma Sheforgen, and Zulhumar Zunung (all pre-dietetic internship).
