Communication Studies Graduate Student (IE Mentor and previous Intern) Amanda Porter
Participating in the IE pre-grad school program has shaped my experiences
in higher education greatly. I had the wonderful opportunity to be
both an
intern and a mentor in the program and have benefited in important
ways
from experiencing the mentor-intern relationship from both perspectives.
I did the internship as an undergraduate to explore the possibility of graduate school. As a first generation college graduate, I really had no prior reference for understanding what graduate school entailed. However, my experience as an intern helped me develop an in-depth understanding of the graduate school culture. Now I am a graduate student in the same department that I did my internship in and have taken on the role of being a mentor to another undergraduate student much like myself.
As a mentor, I made an effort to provide my intern with all of the valuable experiences that benefited me so much when I was an intern in the program. Some of the activities of this internship included visiting graduate seminars, interviewing faculty and graduate students, and attending departmental colloquia. Importantly, I had the unique opportunity to build a professional relationship with a student that is unlike any experience I have ever had in the classroom. Working one-on-one with my intern, I feel that I was really able to help her by tailoring the internship to meet her needs.
As an intern and a mentor, I have benefited from the IE pre-grad school program in every way possible. I feel so rewarded to have the experience of both intern and mentor; I feel that in many ways I have come full circle in the IE pre-grad school program.