Startup EdLyft Raises $1.4M for College STEM Mentoring
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 11/09/20
A
startup launched by two women who met in high school and embarked on
careers in engineering and business has received an infusion of $1.4
million to expand its program intended to help close the STEM gap.
EdLyft
was launched in 2019 by Erika Hairston, who formerly worked at
LinkedIn and Facebook, and Arnelle Ansong, formerly a researcher and
an associate consultant at Bain & Company.
The
company has already supported more than 150 students in the
Universities of California in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara through
computer science, data science and math courses with a combination of
peer mentoring, small group tutoring and access to study tools.
EdLyft
charges a sliding scale between $15 and $60 a week for six hours of
support. Among the students mentored, many were women or transfer
students from community college.
With
the new capital, which came from "venture capital funds,
friends, family and angels," the co-founders plan to expand to
more institutions, including the University of North Carolina and
University of Michigan. Students who enroll in the service don't need
to be attending one of the targeted schools.
Supporters
of the program can sponsor students by purchasing EdLyft
scholarships. A month scholarship is $180; a quarter is $450; and a
semester is $720.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.