OPENING TECH DOORS SMC STUDENTS —FOR—
THANKS IN PART TO TWO ALUMNI, A NEW
PARTNERSHIP WITH GOOGLE PROMOTES WORKPLACE DIVERSITY, AS WELL AS JOB AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMC STUDENTS
Amy Vernetti ‘90 (left) and Corin Hernandez ‘16 are part of the Leadership Recruiting team at Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
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or mathematics major Sonia Valenzuela ’18, Room 200 on the second floor of Assumption Hall is more than a place to study; it’s a place where she’s found a supportive community. “Sometimes you don’t necessarily want to ask questions in class,” said Valenzuela, a first-generation Latina who commutes to Saint Mary’s. “So even if you didn’t ask the question in class, you can always ask it at the STEM center. If you don’t know the answer, they’re going to really work with you, and help you figure it out.” Helping students, especially Hispanic and low-income students, who are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, excel in those environments, is a major objective of the one-year-old center. “One of the biggest challenges that scholars face is the feeling that they don’t belong in the sciences. This internalized discord is reinforced by the fact
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SAINT MARY’S MAGAZINE
that there are very few examples of people of color in their classrooms, either in the form of peers or professors,” said Ameer Thompson, PhD, director of the College’s CALC (Caminos a Las Ciencias or “Pathways to Science”) program. Funded through a $2.7 million Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) STEM grant from the U.S. Department of Education in fall 2016, CALC aims to foster greater participation of Hispanic and low-income science students in STEM and to create a pipeline of diverse talent for STEM companies. While CALC is thriving on the campus, few at SMC were aware that the successful STEM program was being appreciated by two influential Gaels in Silicon Valley. Amy Vernetti ’90, director of Leadership Recruiting at Alphabet, and Corin Hernandez ’16, Alphabet Leadership Recruiting coordinator, make up two-thirds of the Leadership Recruiting
