The Learning Circle (TLC) is a social initiative dedicated to increasing access to STEM education for girls from underserved communities, and to preparing them for the higher education applications that can reshape the course of their lives.
TLC works in a deliberate sequence rather than a scattershot of good intentions. It begins by listening, through a survey that maps each student's interests, strengths, and aspirations, so that support is built around the girl in front of us rather than imposed on her. From there, students are grouped by the disciplines that excite them and connected to two kinds of guidance. The first is exposure to established professionals from STEM fields, who speak openly about what their careers and journeys have actually looked like. The second is one-on-one peer mentoring, in which trained high school volunteers sit alongside students through the small but decisive work of researching colleges and untangling their questions. Holding all of it together is a set of original resources, including a comprehensive handbook on higher education pathways and a training guide that prepares peer mentors to support their mentees with genuine sensitivity.
The aim throughout is not to do the work for these girls, but to put the map, the tools, and a steady companion in their hands, so that the path becomes one they can walk themselves.