Developing Leadership and Professional Skills of Graduate Students Using an Empowered Mentor-Leader Program Model

• In Event: 25.064 - Mentoring in Higher Education

Abstract

According to a recent Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) report, Ph.D. candidates and research master’s students are too narrowly focused on academic preparation at the expense of developing authentic leadership and professional skills. As such, graduate students are not adequately prepared to enter the workforce as vital contributors in industry, government, non-profits, entrepreneurial ventures, and as faculty. This paper explores graduate students’ participation in team leadership positions of a pioneering STEM intervention program that provides graduate students with authentic leadership and professional development experiences. A unique aspect of the mentored-leader program is that the program was designed, developed, and is governed, in part, by a team of graduate students who are mentored by the co-project directors.

Authors

• Quintana M. Clark, Purdue University

• Levon T. Esters, Purdue University

• Neil A. Knobloch, Purdue University