Communicating openly with your mentor network can be a challenge. There’s no ready-made script for having effective conversations with a mentor, but building communications within a network of mentors allows you to advocate for yourself, source helpful feedback, and ask for the mentoring you need.

Claire Baytas (PhD, ’23; comparative literature) is back with a second post in our mentoring series that focuses on the processes of choosing a mentor, agreeing on mutual expectations, and maintaining productive lines of communication.

Claire Baytas (PhD, ’23; comparative literature) reflects on lessons she learned about the mentoring process during her time in graduate school: from thinking about the nature of a mentor in the context of grad school to busting the myth of the "super mentor." 

The Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program connects undergraduates who are new to research with experienced graduate students who mentor them through the research process. 

Are you looking for a mentoring opportunity? Whether you are interested in a career in academia or industry, you should be.

For many Illinois graduate students, the classroom is just one avenue for teaching and learning. We asked three graduate students to reflect on their experiences working with programs that served middle school, high school, and incoming graduate students. Although their research interests and programs differ, they shared a common outcome. Through mentoring, they’d learned as much as they taught.  They shared their thoughts with Grad Life.