CSM’s Marie Curie Scholarship offers financial resources, research opportunities for STEM majors

OMAHA, Neb. – Kaitlin Smith still remembers the day she received the phone call telling her she would be awarded College of Saint Mary’s prestigious Marie Curie Scholarship. “I saw the call come in on my phone. I ran upstairs to my mom, and we talked to a CSM representative on speakerphone together,” the Fort Calhoun High School graduate said. “My mom started crying. For me, it was such a cool experience. It’s something I will never forget.”

Now a junior, Smith plans to attend medical school after graduating from CSM.

The Marie Curie Scholarship provides significant financial support and resources to outstanding young women pursuing STEM majors, such as biology, chemistry, math or human biology.

“The Marie Curie Program and Scholarship is a cohort-based community of women with a passion for science and mathematics,” explained Heather Stigge, PhD, director of the Marie Curie Program. “Through participation in our program, Marie Curie Scholars consistently overcome common barriers to women’s success in STEM fields.”

The goal of the Marie Curie Program is to provide students with the resources and experiences needed for women to be successful in their college studies and smoothly transition into their desired STEM professions. This includes significant financial, academic, technical training, and career-placement support.  Marie Curie Scholars receive up to $20,000 each year in tuition support, and up to $80,000 over four years.

Additionally, the program provides an intentional four-year plan for each cohort of scholars that will help participants be successful in their STEM courses and beyond graduation. All Marie Curie Scholars are invited to participate in cohort-based peer bonding activities and skill-based courses that allow Scholars to transition from high school to college STEM courses seamlessly. Throughout the four years, Scholars also receive free tutoring and can participate in peer-bonding and faculty-led mentoring programs. Scholars build on their experiences in the classroom by exploring STEM careers through speaker presentations and networking events with potential employers. Additionally, students develop skillsets critical for graduate school and STEM careers by participating in skill-based workshops and partaking in mentored research and internship experience with faculty and industry partners. Program participants have access to prestigious research and professional development opportunities provided by the National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, American Association for the Advancement of Science and NASA. Students nationally expand their network of STEM professionals through funding to attend and present research findings at national conferences. Ultimately, the Marie Curie Program’s goal is to place Scholars into STEM graduate schools or professions. The program provides Scholars with financial support to explore graduate schools and advisors to aid them with a job or graduate school placement.

Kendra Wiese, a 2022 CSM graduate and now a student at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tenn., is grateful for the opportunities the Marie Curie Scholarship afforded her. “I think it’s hit me how much of an impact this had on my future life goals. Because of the Marie Curie Scholarship, I have more money saved to use towards graduate school,” she said. “It was just huge.”

The Marie Curie Scholarship is funded by a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (Award 2130502). “The goal of CSM’s Marie Curie Scholars program is to increase the number of female students graduating with STEM majors,” Stigge said. “We’re also able to assess the extent to which student participation in STEM experiences and exposure to STEM careers affects the retention of female undergraduate students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry or mathematics. The results of this study will improve recruitment and retention of women to high-demand STEM careers.”

To learn more or apply, go to CSM.edu/MarieCurie.