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Washington State University Tri-Cities Increases Mentoring For Women

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File photo of the Consolidated Information Center on the WSU Tri-Cities campus in Richland, Washington.

At Washington State University Tri-Cities, more than 60 percent of the undergrads are female. So leaders there decided to launch “Million Women Mentors.”

It’s part of a national program to help women excel in careers with science and math.

Kimberly Williams-Harper is a physical scientist who mentors young women. She said her biggest mentor -- her mother -- would repeat small bits of advice over and over. But that made hard decisions a little easier.

Now she’s doing the same for other junior-high aged girls and her own college-aged daughter.

“She kind of rolled her eyes at that,” Williams-Harper said. “But there have been a number of times since she’s been away at college when she called and said says, ‘You know what mom, I was in this situation or that situation and I could hear your voice in my head.’”

Washington State University Tri-Cities program “Million Women Mentors” launches Monday night at 5:30 p.m.

Anna King calls Richland, Washington home and loves unearthing great stories about people in the Northwest. She reports for the Northwest News Network from a studio at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. She covers the Mid-Columbia region, from nuclear reactors to Mexican rodeos.