Mentoring
PLA offers a mentoring program for newly admitted graduate students or any existing graduate students who desire a mentor. For more information, please download the mentorship manual by clicking the button below.
Mentorship ManualWhat is a mentor-mentee relationship (Mentorcruise, 2022)?
- A mentor-mentee relationship is a professional and interpersonal relationship between a mentor and a protege aiming to offer advice, guidance, and new skills. It basically reduces the learning curve a mentee has to undergo while holding them accountable for their progress.
- A mentor is more of a guide than a coach, that helps the mentee achieve personal and professional goals by realizing their potential. Mentors offer advice from experience or knowledge, working as a support structure to bring out the best in people and work their way to success.
- Every mentor-mentee relationship is different as each individual has their own perspectives and unique circumstances. The role of a mentor is to actively listen to the mentee’s needs and give them the time and space to explore their own solutions.
Who Can Be Mentors and Mentees?
- Mentors: Any linguistics graduate student who has completed at least two semesters at Purdue can apply for being a mentor.
- Mentees: All incoming new linguistics graduate students or existing students who desire a mentor will be assigned a mentor. When assigning a mentor to a mentee, the PLA will take several factors into consideration including, but not limited to, academic progress in the program, research interest match, cultural background, and both mentors’ and mentees’ preference.
What Do Mentors and Mentees Do?
- Academia: adjusting to the demands of graduate academic work, including research and course work.
- Life: adjusting to the life at Purdue and in West Lafayette.
How Long Is the Mentorship?
- The mentorship is semester-long. The PLA will send out an email recruiting mentors in August and December.
