Qualitatively Archiving Mentoring Experiences of International LGBQ Students: A Pilot Study

• In Event: Mentoring Diverse Populations

Abstract

This study is aimed at gaining a first-person’s narrative of mentoring through lived experiences of LGBQ-identifying international student mentees. LGBQ, or broadly ‘queer’ students, have been identified as a historically oppressed group on US campuses and many institutions offer specialized educational programming and services to engage these students (Harper & Baxter, 2020). However, international LGBQ students remain largely an understudied demographic and their experiences unaddressed in research (Copobianco, 2020). The study investigated this gap in mentoring scholarship by conducting phenomenological interviews with five international-LGBQ student participants. Results encompass themes that describe notions of mentoring, its purpose, safety in a mentoring relationship and recommendations for an on-campus mentoring program. Implications are discussed for educators, student affairs and higher education professionals.

Authors

• Anil Lalwani, Cleveland State University

• Wendy Green, Cleveland State University

• Shaznin Daruwalla