Research shows that mentorship is an important aspect of graduate
education, significantly affecting student experiences and success,
whether it is mentorship from a faculty member or from a peer. But
mentorship is a concept that is sometimes tough to address because of
the conflicting definitions of what a mentor is or does, and the
difficulties of recognizing and supporting good mentorship in the
university. Another issue that sometimes keeps mentorship out of
discussion is the sensitive nature of addressing bad mentorship
relationships, which is tied up in fears and anxieties about
maintaining professional relationships and even funding resources.

In spite of, or perhaps because of, these difficulties, conversations
around mentorship are crucial to foster at our University. As a
graduate student with strong mentoring relationships, I can attest to
how valuable such relationships are to my personal and professional
development at U of L. I can also attest to the importance of
establishing and fostering multiple mentoring relationships which can
supplement one another, as no one person can be expected to provide
all the scholarly, personal, and professional support and knowledges a
graduate student needs. I want briefly to share my experience of peer
mentoring here, to encourage others to get involved with peer
mentoring in their departments or to develop peer mentoring programs
in support of themselves and their graduate colleagues. I hope you
enjoy my account, but I also hope you think of ways to improve it, to
adapt it, and to build on it for your own programmatic and personal
needs.

I applied to and entered U of L’s Rhetoric and Composition program
with a background in Literature and Creative Writing; without knowing
the fields, the reader can tell at least on the level of naming, that
this means that (though these programs are all generally contained
under the heading of “English”) my background  was not in the field
that I entered here. On top of this transition was the geographical
transition I made to Louisville from Pittsburgh (where my fiance
remained for my first year of residence). Though I didn’t acknowledge
the significance of these professional and personal transitions at the
time, looking back I realize what a huge challenge that could have
been. What made that transition successful, maybe even possible, were
the support networks I worked to develop, particularly with my peer
mentor.

My peer mentoring relationship with Shyam, a third-year in my
department when I began the program, supported me as I became
initiated into the local department culture and discipline at large.
Not only was I able to ask Shyam questions about my courses, the
program at U of L, or the city, but I was also able to work
collaboratively on projects and proposals that I might not have felt
comfortable pursuing on my own yet. And I never had the sense that
this was just “service” for Shyam either; as peers and colleagues,
Shyam and I have supported one another’s intellectual work and
practice, each providing feedback and proposing projects. In this way,
our peer mentoring relationship has morphed into (or perhaps it always
was) a professional and intellectual co-mentoring or collaboration.
Rather than losing relevance after my first-year transition, my peer
mentoring relationship has continued to be a valuable professional
partnership for both of us as we submit proposals to co-present at
conferences and workshops, discuss our research, and hold each other
accountable for progress towards publication with a summer writing
group.

Following the model that Shyam and I developed for peer collaboration
and support, I plan to develop mentoring relationships with other
incoming students as well, growing my own professional network while I
help them establish theirs. I will do this because I am dedicated to
service to my department and university, but also because it enables
valuable relationships and exchanges with colleagues. Mentorship is
more than service; it is an intellectual and professional activity
that benefits all parties involved. Fostering a climate of mentorship
in the departments and across the university could mean that all of
our graduate students have the positive graduate experience and
professional support networks that I have been so grateful to Shyam
for helping me construct.