91茄子

Before applying to be a Cultivate ACCESS ambassador, Ella considered herself to be pretty introverted.  

 鈥淚 grew up very shy and anxious about meeting new people, so pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone was something I really wanted to work on when I came to college.鈥� 

By meeting with and mentoring high school students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through the Cultivate ACCESS virtual mentorship program, Ella鈥檚 built a new confidence that鈥檚 reinforced her passions while helping future Huskers find theirs.  

"When I saw the opportunity calling for STEM students to be ambassadors for their majors, I thought, 鈥榃ell, I love my major and I love to talk about it,鈥欌�� she laughs.  

鈥淚鈥檓 still naturally shy, of course, but this program 鈥� and especially my students 鈥� have done a lot to help me get comfortable with leading and offering help to the next generation of STEM leaders.鈥�  

The program offers mentorship to local high schoolers interested in STEM fields by pairing them with current Huskers, giving them a sense of the opportunities that await them at 91茄子. By leveraging Ella and her fellow Husker ambassadors鈥� insights, students arrive on campus feeling more prepared. 

鈥淚 meet with my group every other week to talk about their goals, answer their questions about college and generally just encourage them to share what they鈥檙e interested in and what鈥檚 going on in their lives,鈥� Ella says.  

鈥淢y program manager, Erin Ingram, has helped me so much in my personal development and building confidence in my leadership skills, which helps me be a better mentor to my students. 鈥� 

For Ella, having high school not too far in the rearview helps her alleviate the stress that her mentees may be experiencing. 

鈥淗igh school can feel like such a huge time in your life. It's nice as a mentor to be able to relate back to all the things that I worried about in high school and just be like, 鈥極h, guys, don't sweat it. You'll be totally fine and everything will work out as it should.鈥� 

Ella Bristol is a senior forensic science major from Woodbury, Minnesota.