Katherine Turner
As a graduate mentor in the IE Pre-Grad Internship program, I was
able to work with an exceptional student in a way that very much mirrors
what I will be
doing in the future as a university professor. We met weekly to discuss
his
project--the pitfalls of research and the joys of discovering some great
tidbit. I was also able to introduce him to other graduate students in
musicology with similar interests and get him involved with grad activities
like attending graduate seminars and lectures, experiencing a lab section
and a
lecture course from the perspective of the instructor and thinking beyond
the
textbook for information.
This is an exciting program that I very much wish I had had access to when I was thinking about graduate school. My intern will no doubt be more prepared for the choices he will face and the inevitable challenges that are soon to be headed his way.
We continue to meet on a less regular schedule to discuss conferences, journals and his options for graduate institutions. I made not only a friend but a professional contact; we will be colleagues for many years and I look forward to continuing the relationships we have developed through the IE program.