Squared Fellows
Your Roadmap to a Career in STEM
What’s the Squared Fellows Program?
A yearlong mentorship program for underrepresented 10th-12th grade high school students in San Diego County who are interested in STEM, including rotation-based, industry site-visit series. In this immersive program, you’ll connect with a network of advocates and have front-row access to some of San Diego’s most innovative companies – all dedicated to empowering tomorrow’s STEM leaders today. Let us help you design your unique roadmap to get to where you want to go.
As a Squared Fellow You’ll Get:
• Tours at 5 innovative San Diego companies
• A mentor assigned to you for an entire year
• A cohort of other students to build your network
• Countless reasons why you belong in STEM
• A swag bag loaded with technology, SD2 merch and other perks!

WHO SHOULD APPLY TO BE A SQUARED FELLOW?
Are You?
• An underrepresented high school student?
• 10th-12th grader in a San Diego County high school?
• Available after school once a week and one Saturday a month for 10-15 weeks?
• Enthusiastic about meeting with a STEM mentor once a month for a year?
If you’re curious about a career in STEM and answered “yes” to the questions above, this program is for you.

HOW TO APPLY
• Apply online. If needed, email us at team@sd2.org for a printable application form.
• To complete your application, you’ll need to answer a few questions that help us get to know you better.

MEET OUR MENTORS
San Diego Squared™ mentors represent a diverse group of committed STEM professionals ready to share their time and talent with you!

Co-Founder & VP of Partnerships
CourseKey

Supervisor, Customer Technical Support
Tandem Diabetes Care

Co-Founder
Zipdev

Portfolio Advisor
Aksia

Senior Translational Scientist I
Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Diversity Recruiter and Educator
Personalis, Inc.

Business Development and Marketing
AllTech Systems

CFO
Metacrine, Inc

Executive Director
The LEAGUE of Amazing Programmers

Assistant Director of Outreach & Recruitment
University of San Diego

Director of Data Strategy
The Atlas for Cities

Manager of Business Development
Prothena

Life science & Biotech Director
Institute of the Americas

Chief Executive Officer
Diversity By Design

Graduate Student
San Diego State University
Frequently Asked Questions
We’re here to answer your questions! Don’t see the information you’re looking for below? Reach out to the San Diego Squared team directly at team@sd2.org.
The Squared Fellows program starts in October. The fellowship includes weekly meetings for a year. Fellows are required to meet monthly with an assigned mentor. Mentor meetings are determined by the mentor and mentee and take place during mutually agreed upon dates and times. Specific dates for activities will be sent to Fellows as they are scheduled.
Squared Fellows is a hybrid program that meets weekly for a year, spending an average of 2 hours each week in immersive learning experiences. Each week will include either a site visit prep session (virtual), or a STEM industry site visit (in-person). Attendance and full participation each week are mandatory for all Fellows, and those who cannot fulfill the attendance requirement will be asked to reconsider their participation in the program.
Upon acceptance, the full cost of a Squared Fellow’s participation is completely covered (the value of the program is estimated to be $2000/student). In addition to program funding, Fellows will also receive a monthly grocery stipend, SD2 swag, and other perks!
There is no minimum GPA to apply. An applicant’s GPA is just one aspect of their overall application, where the stronger preference is the applicant’s curiosity and/or motivation in STEM.
Applications for our 2023-2024 cohort Join our email list on our home page to be notified when applications open for our next cohort.
The 2023-2024 Squared Fellows Program will include 50-60 STEM-enthusiastic and STEM-interested students from throughout San Diego County.
If you’re not accepted into the program, you’re still eligible to apply the following year. Seniors who are not accepted into the program are not eligible to apply again as the Squared Fellows Program is for 10th-12th graders. We encourage you to apply for our Squared Scholars or Squared Interns program, which are meant for college students.
All STEM-enthusiastic (and STEM-interested) students can apply for the Squared Fellows Program. You don’t have to have perfect grades, but you do need to have a sincere interest in STEM!
It’s hard to know exactly what you want to do when you grow up. The Squared Fellows Program is for STEM enthusiastic and STEM interested students who want to get a better understanding of what a career in STEM could look like. If this sounds like you, we think you should apply!
The Squared Fellows program will be a mix of virtual and on-site sessions. An exciting part of the program is the rotational STEM site visits, during which all State mandated COVID-19 precautions will be observed. Transportation is required and is the responsibility of the student (drop-off, carpool, bus, ride share, etc.). SD2 will cover the cost of any transportation needs.
The SD2 Team will be observing all state-mandated COVID-19 precautions in order to keep students, parents, mentors, staff, and industry partners safe. Up-to-date COVID-19 guidelines will be provided prior to every on-site or in-person session.
Rotational site visits will occur at a variety of STEM companies located throughout San Diego County. Exact locations will be provided during program orientation along with transportation details.
Transportation to and from all in-person sessions is the responsibility of the student. SD2 does not provide transportation. However, SD2 will cover the cost of any transportation needs.
SD2 will work very closely with each Fellow to ensure they have an available transportation option so that transportation is not a barrier to participation, including funding any transportation needs (rideshare, carpool gas, etc.).
From executives to mid-level professionals, SD2 Mentors all come from diverse backgrounds and are working in a STEM-related field. They are background-checked, trained, and excited to give their time and talent to help build your career in STEM!