Mentoring for the
MINT Program Matriculating, Influencing, Networking, Triumphing
Start of the M.I.N.T. Program ▪ Stephanie Milton, Women’s Center Director (2013-2014) ▪ Perceived a gap in underrepresented womxn’s aspirations for going to graduate school and the university’s lack of resources and support for these students. ▪ Submitted a proposal to UCSC SFAC (Student Fee Advisory Committee) to create and fund the M.I.N.T. Program (Matriculating, Influencing, Networking, Triumphing) ▪ Program designed to be helpful to both graduate students and undergraduate students through building community, developing professional skills, and supporting one another. ▪ Funding was approved, but with many transitions to different WC directors a graduate student program coordinator was not hired until Fall 2016.
Program Goals • Development of strong application materials in applying to graduate school. • Increased sense of confidence about applying and doing well in graduate school. • Increased sense of community (with cohort members and mentors) • Become well informed about: • What graduate programs are like • How to navigate grad school • Funding opportunities • Other opportunities at UCSC • For graduate students- Increased sense of professional development and community with undergraduate and graduate students in the program.
What is unique about the MINT program? ● Feminist, womxn, social-justice centered, engages with Critical Race Theory ● Undergraduate students (who are first-gen and/or POC) accepted based on need for guidance, commitment to the program for Winter and Spring, and commitment to supporting others in their cohort. ○ NOT: GPA, or other socially constructed markers/measures of “excellence.” ● Graduate student mentors accepted based on desire to provide support and mentor underrepresented undergraduate students and commitment to the program for Winter and Spring. ● All majors accepted ● Flexibility to shape the program according to participant desires (e.g. workshops, speakers, activities, structure, raffle prizes). ○ Let me know if you have any suggestions for any activities or presentations!
Things become more complicated for womxn pursuing graduate school when you look at other intersections of identity Such as race, social class, first-generation status. – Example: Historically womxn of Color have been systematically excluded from academia. When they do participate it is often a toxic environment. “Existing academic structures facilitate different realities and rules of the game for members of historically underrepresented groups as compared to those of white, heterosexual colleagues. These disparate realities create shaky ground for women of Color and provide evidence that no matter how hard they work, how many degrees they possess, what titles they earn, or what and/or positions they aquire, they are still vulnerable to malevolent experiences as faculty members” (pg. 448 of Presumed Incompetent: The intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia)
Understanding Intersectionality
Who are MINT Scholars?
Undergraduate womxn at UCSC who are: 1.) The first generation in their family to attend a 4 year college and/or a Person of Color 2.) Interested in pursuing graduate school (Master’s or Ph.D.) 3.) Seriously considering applying to graduate school next Fall (2018) 4.) Committed to being an active participant in the program for an entire academic school year 5.) Committed to helping to create a supportive community for first gen and WOC 6.) In need of one-on-one mentorship by a graduate student in your field (or related field).
Who are MINT Mentors? ● Graduate student womxn who are volunteering some of their time and energy to provide guidance to 1 or 2 undergraduate womxn who are underrepresented in higher education. ● Committed to diversifying higher education and social justice. ● Committed to supporting their mentee for 2 quarters (Winter and Spring).
How are mentors/mentees paired? Major/Field of Study
Overlapping Research Interests
Any other overlapping Interests
Pairing made! Note: Sometimes a perfect match cannot be made and there are not enough mentors in the program to cater to every mentee’s preferences for a mentor. In the past we have had mentors/mentees paired from different fields of study. At first one can feel uncomfortable/nervous or feel like they won’t be helpful to their mentee. Remember that you have plenty of transferable skills (writing, organizing, networking) and there are many benefits for mentees to gain exposure to other disciplines.
2018-2019 M.I.N.T. Scholar Cohort • Total of 39 Undergraduate Students • 19 different majors Social Sciences Division Majors • • • • •
Anthropology Psychology Sociology Cognitive Science Latin American & Latino Studies • Environmental Studies
Physical & Biological Sciences Majors • Chemistry • Human Biology • Ecology & Evolutionary Biology • Bioengineering • Earth and Planetary Sciences
Majors from other divisions • • • • • • • • •
Legal Studies Electrical Engineering Computer Science Computational Mathematics Politics Feminist Studies Critical Race and Ethnic Studies History Literature
Some intersections of identities in this year’s cohort. Undocumented
Immigrant
First-generation, low-income, womxn of color
Queer Intersex/trans
Bisexual woman engineer
Some of this year’s cohort reasons for joining M.I.N.T. – “I hope that being in this program will allow me to understand what certain steps I need to take in order to apply to graduate school since I do not know anyone that has gone to graduate school. I am hoping I will be able to find out more about graduate school and learning about the perspective of someone who has gone to
“Since I have arrived at the University of California Santa Cruz, I have always felt out of place. It seemed to me as if everyone around me already knew what to do and how to do things. I struggled a lot my first quarter and I found myself constantly wanting to give up. I want to be in the MINT program because I have a set goal of helping people in the same situation that I find myself in, but in order provide quality guidance I must go through it myself. I have the aspirations of going to grad school but again I find myself at yet another disposition of not knowing where
Programming Overview • Workshops • For undergraduate students in the Winter and Spring quarters on topics such as how to write the personal statement, what to expect in graduate school, preparing for research and fellowship opportunities • End of Quarter Celebrations • Opportunity for everyone to get together and celebrate the end of the quarter and one another’s accomplishments. • Check-ins Each Quarter (one for undergrads one for grads) • Opportunity to see how everyone is doing and if there is any way to support each other or improve the program. • Scholarship opportunities for undergraduate students • For students who are actively and consistently participating in the program and meeting with their mentor there are opportunities for scholarships that will pay conference registration fees or graduate application fees. • Critical Mentoring Training- During MINT Retreat December 1st.
M.I.N.T. Workshops – Only 3 per Winter and Spring Quarter- Typically scheduled on Wednesday evenings for 3 hours (4pm to 7pm) – The expectation is that M.I.N.T. scholars (AKA your protégé) attends each of these workshops (unless class or emergency).
Dinner is provided at every workshop and every time protégés attend they will get a raffle ticket that can be used toward earning prizes at the end of the quarter celebrations.
End of the quarter celebrations Fall- Meet and Greet Retreat- DECEMBER 1ST (10am- 1:30pm). Meet your mentor/mentee Winter- End of the Winter Quarter Celebration Spring- End of the Year celebration ceremony and scholarship awards
New this Year ● Meet and Greet Retreat ○ critical mentoring discussion ● Flexi gift card ($20 dollars each) ● End of year celebration combined with general women’s center celebration
Meet and Greet Retreat- December 1st ● Saturday, December 1st, 10:00am to 1:30pm @ ucsc women’s center ● Structure 10:00-10:30am ○ Welcome- community check in 10:30-12:00pm ○ mentees connect with one another ○ mentor discussion on critical mentoring 12:00-12:30pm ○ Lunch 12:30- 1:30 ○ mentors & mentees meet/greet and discuss goals, expectations, needs
Critical Mentoring • In previous years we had Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan give a talk • This year, we will all read chapter 1 of the book (very short and easy to read) before the retreat. All MINT mentors will get a copy of this book to keep and refer to. • Goals: 1.) Gain a better understanding of how to support students from underrepresented backgrounds 2.) Understand how to avoid common pitfalls. Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan • • • •
Founder and Executive Director of the Youth Mentoring Action Network Author of “Critical Mentoring: A Practical Guide” Author of For Harriet Blog Earned their Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University
MINT Mentor Expectations 1.) Attend Meet and Greet retreat- DECEMBER 1ST 2.) Make an effort to come to end of the quarter events and check-ins. 3.) Check in and/or meet with students bi-weekly or as needed Be sure to log in your hours and activities in an excel sheet- You get a raffle ticket each time you meet with your mentee 4.) Be a supportive presence on campus for your mentee. 5.) Have clear and honest communication with mentee (e.g. set boundaries), share your needs or what helps you be most helpful to mentee Note: You are not their therapist nor are you expected to know the answers to everything. Be clear about what you can and cannot offer.
What do I do when I meet with my mentee? What do we work on together? How often do we meet? ● Each undergraduate student will have different needs/goals ● At the beginning of each quarter (starting with meet and greet) you will discuss with your mentee what their goals are and how you as their mentor can best support them. ○ You want to create a plan for each quarter for accomplishing milestones. ■ Could be things like: creating/polishing CV, applying to scholarships, creating a list of schools to apply to, support with getting into a research lab (if relevant), drafting a personal statement, etc. ● The point is: what you and your mentee work on and how often you meet is flexible and depends on both mentor and mentee’s needs.
Other Ideas on what to work on: • Expose students to graduate student settings/experiences • Ex: • Invite them to lab meetings with you • Invite them to colloquium meetings with you • Invite them to Job talks with you • Attend an on-campus event together related to graduate school. **Make sure to make time to debrief with your mentees after these meetings. Sometime students can feel very intimidated after being in these spaces.
Suggested goals/activities for each quarter Students may be in a different place in their graduate application process, but here are some general guidelines/goals for each quarter. • Winter ❑ Create and polish a CV ❑ Have selected graduate programs to apply to & have all the info for each program organized on an excel file ❑ Begin practice writing personal statement/research statement ❑ Begin identifying scholarships/fellowships & organize info. In an excel file with due dates and required materials. ❑ Exposure to graduate student settings and experiences. ❑ Identify research/internship opportunities • Spring ❑ Have a finalized version of personal statement/research statement. ❑ Create letter of recommendation packets ❑ Begin preparing materials and writing statements for scholarships and fellowships. ❑ Continued exposure to graduate student settings and experiences.
Other Resources and perks Provided by the M.I.N.T. Program For Undergraduate Students
❖ Scholarships for Grad applications - up to $105 Eligibility: consistent participation in the program throughout the year. ❖ Scholarship to pay for academic conference registration fees- up to $200 Eligibility: Consistent participation in the program throughout the year, proof that you will be attending conference, must be attending conference in either Winter or Spring quarter Funds for scholarships are generated through GIVING DAY event in February. ❖ Books in the WC library- GRE books and other grad prep books available for check-out. ❖ Private FB page to share resources and thoughts among one another ❖ Private website made so that members can have access to information about upcoming dates and resources.
…............For Undergraduate and Graduate Students ❖
Food is provided at every event
❖ M.I.N.T. Program Handbook with resources listed that help with graduate school ❖ Flexi Gift Card ($20 dollars) to support mentors/mentees meeting over coffee or a meal. ❖ Private FB page & Google Website to share resources and updates with others ❖ M.I.N.T. T-shirt- provided at the end of the year. ❖ Raffle Prizes- Tickets given for active participation to be used on cool book prizes (feminist, Women of Color scholarship, GRE books- for mentees, and books about navigating graduate school and the job market). (I’m open to any ideas that you all have for book prizes)
A note on Flexi Gift Cards and mentoring more than 1 student Flexi Cards can be used at several coffee shops, dining halls, and food trucks on campus See the full list at this link: https://dining.ucsc.edu/eat/index.html â—? Each quarter you will get a flexi card loaded with $20 to take yourself and your mentee out for a meeting over coffee or lunch. â—? If you are mentoring 2 students your flexi card will be loaded with $40 each quarter to have a meeting or gathering with both of your mentees. This year, our number of mentees outnumbers our number of mentors. We encourage mentors to be open to mentoring 2 students this year. In the past, mentors have scheduled meetings with both mentees at once to make time commitment manageable.
2018-2019 MINT Timeline Fall • MINT Participant Information Session • Mentor information session (today) • Meet and Greet Celebration- Saturday December 1st 10:00am to 1:30 pm at ucsc women’s center Winter • Workshops for mentees. • Mentor Check-in • Protégé Check-in • M.I.N.T. Scholarship applications become available
Spring • Workshops for mentees. • End of the year celebration (June)
Group Activity
• Within a group of 2-3 answer the following questions • Introduce yourselves • Why do you want to mentor for the M.I.N.T. Program? Have you mentored as a graduate student before? If so, what was that like?
Thank you! Applications to mentor for the M.I.N.T. Program (if you haven’t yet put in an application) are due Wednesday 10/31 at noon!