STEM-torship of the Blind

We are Blind Scientists, Engineers, Chemists, Mathematicians, and Computer Scientists who are committed to mentoring our fellow Blind student colleagues in achieving excellence and success in STEM.

We believe that the key to mentorship and foundational achievement is to start young and focus on achieving competence in STEM skills and expertise. We are committed to exploit the challenge and adaptability of the human brain to achieve above and beyond expectations! We embrace standing on the shoulders of the experienced! We conquer all barriers and forge paths that circumvent all obstacles!

Our ultimate outcome is to prepare the student for advanced education in which accessibility, and confidence become the keys that open all doors.

STEM-torship Mission Statement

One sentence Mission

To bridge the mentorship gap for blind students in STEM by equipping teachers with specialized accessibility training, fostering a sustainable network of expert mentors, and ensuring every student has the support to succeed in science.

Paragraph Mission

STEM-torship empowers blind students in science by transforming their educators into accessibility advocates. Through a dedicated, year-long triad of student, teacher, and expert mentor, we provide immediate classroom support while actively growing the global pool of qualified STEM accessibility professionals.

Long form Mission

Less than 10% of blind students feel they have a mentor for science, frequently leaving them feeling confused and like they are expected to be the expert on all things accessibility (Neybert, 2026). While studying blind people's science experiences by asking over 200 blind people what their most recent science course was like, our founder Ashley Neybert realized that something had to be done about this problem. There is currently a shortage of qualified individuals to take on this role for students which is where STEM-torship comes in.

We build a year-long collaborative triad between teachers, students, and trained mentors to deliver hands-on accessibility strategies—ultimately certifying educators to become mentors themselves and creating a sustainable future for inclusive science education.

How it works

Teachers can apply to STEM-torship if they have at least 1 blind student in a science course whom they would like to provide a better science experience for. For accepted teachers, a year long triad of teacher, student, and mentor will be formed. Starting off with a 2 week kick off course, a mentor trained in science accessibility for the blind will go out to work directly with the teacher independently for one week answering their questions and teaching introductory teaching techniques for student success. The 2nd week the mentor will work with the teacher and student together with the mentor supervising practice lessons. The teacher then receives the mentor's contact information and will have a scheduled weekly check-in to answer any new questions that arise throughout the year. The mentor will come out again for a short visit later in the year to chat with the student and teacher helping with any difficulties that may have arisen. At the end of the program, teachers can opt to fill out a STEM-torship certificate quiz which if passed allows them to become an official mentor themselves growing the pool of professionals trained to help blind students succeed in science.

Our Founder

Dr. Ashley Neybert is a blind scientist and researcher with an interest in making science more accessible and inclusive of blind people. Her dissertation work is the largest collection of blind people's reports on their science experiences containing data on over 200 people giving information on experiences from 1960 to 2025. She also holds a Masters in Curriculum and Instructional Design and a Bachelors in Chemistry. She believes that if we are creative enough that we can come up with ways to fully incorporate blind students into science courses and to format work environments to allow blind people to be able to work in sciences. This change will benefit all people through multisensory learning and appreciation of differing experiences and ways of interacting with the world around us.

Reference

Neybert, A. E. (2026). Experiences of the Blind in Science (dissertation).