Event Overview
National Mentoring Community-Bridge Symposium
Sunday, March 16, 2025 | 8:00 am - 5:30 pm
Anaheim, CA at the 2025 APS Global Physics Summit - The Joint March and April Meeting
- Location – Hilton Anaheim, room TBA
- Registration closes March 5, 2025. This event is exclusive to invites only.
Why attend?
- National Mentoring Community mentees and Bridge students:
- Be inspired by thought-provoking talks and sessions designed to energize and guide your physics journey.
- Build your network by connecting with mentors and other physics students nationwide.
- Take advantage of financial support—up to $1,500 in travel reimbursement for NMC mentees and Bridge students—so you can focus on making the most of this experience.
- NMC mentors and Bridge site leaders:
- Discover new ideas from engaging talks tailored to mentors, faculty, and students alike.
- Strengthen your mentoring relationships by connecting with mentees in a vibrant, collaborative environment.
- Expand your network and share experiences with other mentors while gaining new perspectives.
Special offer to attend the APS Global Physics Summit
Students attending the NMC-Bridge Symposium can access discounted registration for the APS Global Physics Summit:
- $50 for undergraduate students
- $100 for graduate students
Learn more about student opportunities at the APS Global Physics Summit
After registering for the Symposium, students interested in attending the APS Global Physics Summit will receive a coupon code to access the discounted registration price.
Register for the APS Global Physics Summit
Travel information
- Each Bridge student and NMC mentee attending the Symposium is eligible to receive up to $1,500 in travel reimbursement. All attendees are responsible for making their own travel arrangements.
- If you’re confident you will attend the symposium, we recommend planning your travel soon to secure the best options for flights and lodging.
- Review detailed travel information, including hotel, airport, and travel grant details. Travel grants listed on this page are only available to attendees registered for the full APS Global Physics Summit.
- NMC mentees and Bridge students should check with their departments for additional travel funding.
Process for submitting travel reimbursement:
- After the symposium, Bridge students and NMC mentees should ask for the APS Travel and Expense form, and the APS Direct Deposit form: NMC mentee attendees should submit completed forms and relevant receipts to the National Mentoring Community team, and Bridge Program students should submit completed forms and relevant receipts to the Bridge Program team. The deadline to submit a request for reimbursement is April 18, 2025.
Speaker Bios
Midhat Farooq (she/her) is a Senior Careers Program Manager at the American Physical Society. Within this role, she develops career and professional development programs and resources for students and early career physicists. Midhat manages the APS Career Mentoring Fellows program, through which academic and industry-based physicists receive training on and have the opportunity to mentor the next generation of scientists. She also organizes research sessions and career events at APS conferences to support students attending the meetings. Midhat's favorite part of her role is interacting with students and staying connected to the physics community.
Rachel Younger, LMSW, is a licensed social worker therapist with a unique interdisciplinary background in both physics and social work. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics, a Master of Science in Physics, and a Master of Social Work. Currently, she focuses on workplace wellness at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, where she integrates her scientific and therapeutic background to support mental health in high-stress environments.
Rachel’s career spans federal government service, nonprofit work with justice-involved individuals, and outpatient mental health care. She specializes in mental health education, mentoring, and developing strategies for stress management and resilience in professional and academic settings.
Beyond her work in mental health and wellness programming, Rachel serves on the Board of Directors for the SALUS Center, a nonprofit supporting the Lansing community in Michigan. Her mission is to equip individuals and organizations with the tools to create healthier, more sustainable environments where people can thrive both personally and professionally.
Dr. Kelly A. Diggs is the founder and CEO of Kelly A. Diggs Consulting, LLC, a Virginia SWAM-certified Black-owned and woman-owned micro-business dedicated to broadening representation, access, and belonging within the STEMM workforce. Her work focuses on evidence-based mentorship and leadership development, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) training, institutional consulting and strategic planning, and science outreach.
She is also a Senior Principal Facilitator and Consultant with the NIH-National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) and the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER). Since 2014, she has worked with over 100 colleges, universities, nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, medical institutes, and private sector organizations to support culture shifts in work environments and to navigate conversations about culture, inclusivity, accessibility, and education.
Dr. Diggs earned her B.S. in Biology from Alabama State University (2005) and her Ph.D. in Biology and Biomedical Sciences from Washington University in St. Louis (2010). She was the recipient of the NIH-Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship, and was inducted into the Edward Bouchet Graduate Honor Society.
Dr. Diggs currently resides in the metro DC area with her two children, Matthew and Miranda. In her spare time, she loves to travel, attend concerts, and complete home improvement projects.
Connect with me on social media:
LinkedIn | Instagram
Steve Desir (he/him/his) is an Assistant Professor of Research at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and the USC Race and Equity Center. He currently serves as the Director of Professional Development and Organizational Learning for the Equity in Graduate Education Resource Center at the University of Southern California (USC). His research focuses on racial equity issues in higher education and K-12 settings, with a particular interest in how insights from social psychology and organizational theory can enhance educational experiences for minoritized groups.
Before joining USC, Dr. Desir held leadership positions in student affairs at institutions including New York University, Rutgers University, the University of Vermont, Georgia State University, St. John’s University, and Loyola Marymount University. He oversaw graduate student life, student success programming, emergency management, crisis response, student conduct, and wellness initiatives.
Dr. Desir has collaborated with state education departments, higher education institutions, K-12 school districts, and nonprofit organizations. His commentary on higher education access and student transition has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, LAist (Southern California Public Radio), and The Hechinger Report.
Simone Hyater-Adams is a physicist, artist, educator, and researcher driven to create more opportunities for Black STEM students. She earned her B.S. in Physics from Hampton University, where she engaged in multiple research projects. She later pursued her Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Her graduate work explored the intersections of performance art and identity for Black physicists, earning her the Harry Lustig Award from the American Physical Society’s Four Corners Section in 2018.
Since completing her doctorate, Simone has worked to support Black and Brown STEM students by blending her passions for science and art. She has managed the National Mentoring Community at APS Physics and led STEAM education programs at STEM From Dance, a New York-based nonprofit.
Currently, Simone collaborates with universities and nonprofits on research projects and educational programming at the intersection of STEM and art. She recently launched a research-based STEM and Arts Education consulting firm to further these initiatives.
Symposium Organizers