EPIC mentorship

Mentorship

The Equal Partners in Inclusive Community (EPIC) program aims to promote community engagement and inclusion through dedicated activities in a respectful and supportive environment. It places a particular emphasis on its mentorship program, recognizing the significant positive impact of mentorship on the academic success of underrepresented students. EPIC facilitates connections between freshmen and sophomores with upper-division students, graduate students, and faculty to cultivate strong mentorship relationships.

Become a mentor

EPIC mentors help their mentees make connections, build community, set themselves up for academic success, and prepare for their STEM careers.

Mentors work with mentees to:

• develop a sense of belonging
• identify and use campus resources
• understand university policies and procedures
• set and achieve short- and long-term goals
• engage in purposeful academic and extra-curricular activities

Contact EPIC to become a mentor

Become a mentee

EPIC mentees develop new connections, contribute to building a sense of community, set themselves up for academic success, and prepare themselves for their future careers.

Mentees will:

• identify and use campus resources
• follow university policies and procedures
• set and work towards short- and long-term goals
• engage in purposeful academic and extracurricular activities

Contact EPIC to become a mentee

Mentorship best practices

• Hold a kickoff meeting: Lay the groundwork for the mentoring relationship—how often you’ll meet, how long the meetings will last, and how they will be structured. Also, ensure that what’s discussed should remain confidential.
• Set goals: Establish goals, preferably during the kickoff meeting. Create 2–5 things that you are looking to achieve.
• Meet regularly: This will provide the structure necessary to ensure you get the assistance you need to move forward with your goals, even if you only meet once per month by phone.
• Prepare for meetings: Have questions ready. Be prepared to discuss actions and progress since your last meeting.
• Ask open-ended questions: Open-ended questions can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. They are important to be able to extract important information.
• Take notes between meetings: As you are going through your day, jot down questions or challenges that arise so that when you meet, you’ll have pertinent things to ask.
• Be proactive: You don’t have to wait for your mentor to act on or ask something. If you simply sit back, you’re going to fall behind.

Please email EPIC for the mentor’s and mentee’s manual.