Preconference

A Move Toward Developmental Mentoring: Inspiring Underrepresented Student Researchers to Master the 3C’s of Professional Presence

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Abstract

Mentoring relationships are integral to the success of aspiring research scholars and often shape their career choices and professional presence. A mentor’s unfamiliarity, misunderstanding of, or blindness to racial, cross-cultural, and diversity challenges that affect under-served populations can be detrimental to a student’s academic and career advancement and ultimately impact advanced degree attainment. This workshop, facilitated by the Ronald E. McNair PostBaccalaureate Achievement Program staff, shares student mentoring experiences that affect their academic careers and self-confidence. The instructional nature of mentoring is rejected and the benefit of moving toward a more developmental relationship in mentoring, where high-trust and opportunities for increased exposure to challenging work and other mentors, is embraced. A set of best practices is generated from past mentor-mentee experiences that helped students aspire to reach higher levels of the 3C’s of professional presence —Confidence, Competence, and Credibility