You can help more CNS first-year students thrive!

**UPDATE: A generous alumni donor has matched the first $1,000 we raised! THANK YOU and help us spread the word**

At the College of Natural Sciences, we want to help students realize their full potential by removing hurdles and unleashing their talents and passions in order to pursue paths to propel science forward. One of the ways we’re doing that is through the Forsythe Grange Mentoring Program, which provides scholarships to first-generation juniors and seniors in CNS who each mentor several students from similar backgrounds through their first year at UMass Amherst.

Thanks to generous donor funding from Pamela ‘79 and Jim Grange, we began offering this program in 2019 and it has already made a difference for both the mentors and their mentees. The scholarship support helps to keep the mentors progressing toward their degree completion, and for the mentees, the results are impressive. 

Of the 23 students to receive mentoring in the last 2 years:

• 21 students have remained enrolled at UMass Amherst.
• The average cumulative GPA for mentees in the Forsythe Grange Peer Mentorship Program is 3.54.
• Sixteen of the students who received mentoring remain in majors in the College of Natural Sciences.

It is clear that the “near peer” model works. Our goal now is to raise $20,000 to support two new mentors and up to 10 additional mentees. As donor Jim Grange points out, “Last year, the program accepted just 16 percent of those who applied. We’d love other donors to join us – to provide support for young people who need just a little help to move past the barriers life has put in front of them.”

Please make a gift to support the Forsythe Grange Mentoring Program to propel bright young people and the science forward! Thank you!