The power of mentoring
Mentorship has the power to transform careers, build confidence, and create lasting impact. This website brings together quick, actionable advice from our Mentor in a Minute video series, insights from Mentor Monday sessions, and essential mentoring resources. Whether you’re a graduate student seeking guidance or a mentor looking to make a difference, this site is here to support you.
Mentor in a Minute: Graduate School Advice
In this series, mentors from Colorado State University’s Graduate Center for Inclusive Mentoring share quick, actionable tips to help graduate students thrive—in under a minute!
Mentor Monday: Monthly Tip
April 2026: The enduring case for inclusion: why it still matters and where we go from here
In our April Mentor Monday session, Dr. Sara Bombaci, Associate Professor of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, presented her research on the current landscape of inclusion efforts in higher education.
Dr. Bombaci’s research group conducted a nationwide survey of environmental science students and educators about inclusion initiatives at the level of the campus, classroom, and course content. The study revealed that most initiatives were perceived as effective by students and faculty. The practices rated most effective were: family care support, diverse leadership, mentorship programs, accessibility efforts, and facilitated inclusive discussions that promote critical thinking and tough conversations.
Dr. Bombaci emphasized that inclusion initiatives strengthen higher education for everyone, particularly when they foster empathy, and she highlighted opportunities for individual practices to make a difference, including our current accessibility efforts. You can learn more about the study here: McCaslin et al. 2026.
Past Mentor Monday Tips
Connecting the dots: synthesizing organizational, relational, and identity-based insights to transform graduate education (March 2026)
Our March Mentor Monday session featured Dr. Annie Wofford, Assistant Professor of Higher Education at Florida State University and Associate Director of the Equity in Graduate Education Consortium. Dr. Wofford shared insights from her research on how institutional policies, mentoring relationships, and individual identities influence students’ graduate school aspirations and their subsequent experiences.
She emphasized the highly variable pathways into and through graduate education, stressing the importance of high-quality mentorship to address disparities in student aspirations and experiences. She also highlighted how graduate school trajectories could be shaped by training current students to be equity-minded mentors and examining policies that hinder student success.
To improve access to and the experience of graduate education for all, Dr. Wofford recommended the following:
- Examine Motivations: Evaluate the intent behind policies and practices within graduate programs and the university. What is considered “normal”, and why?
- Engage in Reflection: Engage in self-reflection and dialogue about specific steps of processes and policies. Who is included or excluded at each stage?
- Enact Data Collection: Regularly track outcomes to check if they align with intended goals—and investigate why or why not.
Collaborative writing without the stress (Feb. 2026)
Dr. Kristina Quynn, Director of CSU Writes, led our February Mentor Monday session on collaborative writing.
Writing collaboratively presents unique challenges that arise from misinterpreted expectations, varying writing styles, and anxiety over the writing process. Clear communication is essential, but conversations about writing can be difficult; the personal nature of writing, combined with mentor-mentee power imbalances, often makes these conversations feel uncomfortable.
Dr. Quynn suggested the following tools* to clearly communicate expectations:
- Coauthor agreements address expectations for earning authorship among all collaborators on a project.
- Collaborative writing agreements outline expectations/timelines for writing, meetings, and feedback between a mentor and mentee.
- Artificial intelligence (AI)-Use Agreements establish guidelines for ethical use of AI among coauthors.
- Cover letters accompany a draft and set expectations for the kind of feedback the writer is seeking from the reader.
* You must be logged into your university account to access these resources.
CSU Writes offers writing workshops, courses, and writing retreats for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty.
Navigating conflict in mentoring relationships (Dec. 2025)
Luiza Cliver, Director of Conflict Resolution Services at the Student Resolution Center, led our December Mentor Monday session on navigating conflict to build stronger mentoring relationships. When addressing an issue with a mentee, she recommended using specific and direct language to describe feelings and needs, while also expressing curiosity and listening openly.
To initiate a difficult conversation, ‘I’ statements can help convey feelings or experiences without placing blame. Here are some examples:
- “When [insert behavior], I feel [insert feeling].”
- “When [insert behavior], the assumption I make is [insert assumption].”
These can be followed with questions from a place of curiosity, like:
- “What did you mean when you said X?”
- “What would be helpful for me to know?”
- “What do you feel is missing from the narrative?”
- “How did X impact you?”
In these situations, you can acknowledge your mentee’s feelings and show empathy even when you disagree with them. When you need to discuss something that involves personal impact, prioritize having the conversation in person.
The Student Resolution Center offers conflict resolution services for students AND faculty/staff, including one-on-one conflict coaching, mediation, customized training for groups, and restorative justice to repair harm.
Help or Hindrance? International Graduate Students Share What Made a Difference (Nov. 2025)
The November Mentor Monday session featured a panel of four international graduate students: Katherin Meza, Clara Mosso, Minh Nguyen, and Amir Nobarian. They shared their experiences with the transition to CSU, including challenges with navigating the visa process, difficulties finding housing from afar, and the high cost of moving internationally. They also described challenges after arriving, including language barriers, differences in communication styles, complicated income tax rules, and the high cost of travelling internationally to visit home.
The student panelists and representatives from the Office of International Programs – Lisa Pappas and Christy Eylar – suggested several ways advisors can help:
- Reach out to admitted students to help them start the visa application early and provide supporting letters/documentation. Requirements and timelines differ across countries, making it important to consult with the Office of International Programs, which has helpful pre-arrival resources. Contact Christy Eylar ([email protected]) if you’d like to attend a webinar on the visa process or schedule a training session for your department.
- Help your international students learn about student support services, including academic, employment, wellness, and connection/community resources.
- Be patient with language and communication differences. Promote a culture of mutual understanding by keeping an open mind and learning from one another.
Faculty Support for Graduate Students' Mental Health (Oct. 2025)
The October Mentor Monday session focused on resources and strategies for supporting graduate students’ mental health. It was led by Dr. Sara Anne Tompkins, Associate Dean of Student Services for the Graduate School, and Janelle Patrius, Manager of Mental Health Initiatives for the CSU Health Network.
Graduate students are significantly more likely than the general population to experience anxiety or depression, yet many don’t seek mental health services. Mentors are often the first people to notice when a graduate student is struggling with their mental health, but knowing how to respond can be challenging.
A student’s distress may be evident through emotional signs (e.g., sadness, anxiety, anger, apathy, suicidal comments), cognitive signs (e.g., declines in performance and concentration, the inability to speak, unusual speech), and physical signs (e.g., frequent health/sleep issues, rapid weight change, significant alcohol or drug use). The Health Network offers Notice and Respond workshops to help participants recognize and respond to a range of mental health issues, including suicide.
Faculty can support students’ mental health by learning about campus mental health and disability resources, encouraging students to use those resources, demonstrating compassion while offering a supportive ear, and creating inclusive learning environments for both coursework and non-coursework aspects of graduate studies. If you were unable to attend this Mentor Monday session, but are interested in learning more, you can request a 30-minute workshop. This workshop offers faculty guidance on how to respond when a graduate student is experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, or thoughts of self-harm or harm to others.
Mentoring past uncertainty (Sept. 2025)
Dr. Colleen Web, Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School, led our September Mentor Monday session on mentoring past uncertainty.
Dr. Webb acknowledged the current unpredictability of funding landscapes and job markets but emphasized that uncertainty is a timeless challenge for graduate students. To enhance resilience and the ability to pivot to new career opportunities, students should develop a flexible set of interests and skills by exploring areas outside of, but complementary to, their core area of expertise. Here are suggestions for facilitating this diversification of interests and skills:
- Encourage a “fail fast” approach where interests and new skills are tested by experimenting with low-cost, high-value experiences that maximize information return (e.g., shadowing professionals for a day or conducting informational interviews, rather than taking semester-long courses in new areas).
- Ask reflective questions about what the student learned from low-stakes explorations.
- Help the student identify which complementary skills add the most value before they invest more deeply. Help them balance depth and breadth without spreading themselves too thin.
- Share your own career pivot points and uncertainties, underscoring that career paths are nonlinear and failure is a valuable learning experience.
Additional Mentoring Resources
For graduate students
The Graduate Peer Mentoring Program is perfect for those who want to mentor others, or find a peer mentor from across campus.
For graduate advisors
The Mentor Well training series is intended to build mentoring skills for faculty mentors of graduate students.
For the graduate community
Join us for Mentor Mondays to discuss effective mentoring relationships and their critical role in the graduate community.