The Start-to-Finish mentorship program is a joint effort between the Center for Graduate and Professional Services (GPS), the Graduate Student Congress (GSC), and The Graduate School as a multi-tiered intervention and support strategy for the University of Kentucky’s historically marginalized populations in undergraduate, graduate, and professional fields of study. The first tier of the mentoring program includes graduate and professional students being paired with a faculty/staff member. The second tier of the program allows graduate and professional students to engage in mentorship by mentoring undergraduate students. Graduate and professional students will implement observed and learned mentorship behaviors from their experiences to act as a “guide” to the undergraduate students. These are one-to-one relationships to help retain students and faculty of diverse backgrounds to enhance interpersonal skills development.
One of the unique characteristics of graduate and professional students is that students begin to contribute knowledge to a field of study, and they begin to function as members of a profession. This transitional period involves growth in the professional/academic arena and personal skills. To support professional and personal skill development, mentoring focuses on acculturation, priority setting, networking, career planning, and counseling related to the individual’s (mentee’s) identified goals toward advancement in their field. In addition, this multi-tiered mentoring program will offer participants professional and academic support and cultural and social capital resources as they matriculate through their tenure at the University of Kentucky.