Guide to the GSAS Mentoring Network

The purpose of the GSAS Mentoring Network is to connect graduate students with GSAS alumni from around the world, and to provide new opportunities for graduate students to receive various levels of mentoring support.

Why should I connect with an alumni mentor?
A mentor is someone that concerns themselves with your individual growth and well-being. While an advisor provides you with support that is limited to your academic progress, a mentor works to advance your academic, professional, and personal goals. The concerns of a mentor are much broader than that of an academic advisor.
 
With this in mind, it is often the case that our best mentors are non-faculty mentors—in particular, alumni mentors. The alumni within the Fordham GSAS mentoring community share in common the facts that they have been in your position before, they have an informed understanding of what a strong mentoring relationship looks like, and—most importantly—they know how important mentoring support is for success in graduate school. By connecting with these alumni, you stand to benefit from their considerable expertise and experience, as well as from new relationships of support and guidance that can contribute to your progress.
 
How should I get started? 
The GSAS Mentoring Network is a GSAS-specific community within the Fordham Mentorship Network on People Grove. The best way to get started is to explore the community and the many resources that are made available to you on People Grove:

  1. Join the GSAS group on the Fordham Mentorship Network platform. (Make sure to bookmark this link so that you can easily return to the group.)
  2. Create an account and login using SSO 
  3. Create your profile--be sure to fill it in entirely and add a photo! 
  4. Read the FAQ section of the Fordham Mentorship Network landing page
  5. Familiarize yourself with the platform
    1. Explore the student dashboard
    2. Manage your preferences
    3. Explore the resources tab
    4. Browse the community
    5. Take the matching quiz
    6. Browse the discussion board
  6. Find an alumni on the platform whose career experiences seem interesting to you, and send an introductory message by clicking ‘Message’ on their profile cards
  7. Comment on an existing discussion post in the GSAS group or raise a question of your own