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A mentor’s accessibility to students can be an issue in mentoring relationships. Professors are often busy with other projects and students in their labs. Project IBS-CORE worked with professors, students, and other graduates to improve communication and increase the accessibility of those that can guide Undergraduate Fellows in their research experiences.
As Dr. Scott
Mills and the undergraduate researcher Kevin Sterling point out, a team
approach to mentoring can be very effective in the development of a student’s
thinking and research. In their case, Kevin was far from Dr. Mills in the
field much of the summer, yet mentoring continued every day as graduate
student Paul Griffin bridged the gap left by distance. A mentoring team
made up of professor, graduate student and undergraduate researcher opened
the door to even more support and conversation around Kevin’s development
as a scientist.
mentoring
often occurs informally with graduate students and technicians within the research
setting, such as in the case of Dr. Bill Holben’s lab. Dr. Holben points
out that his entire lab regularly acts as a resource to undergraduate fellows.
based on their experiences. IBS-CORE sponsored graduate students as Peer Mentors
to support the Undergraduate Fellows. As we discovered, Peer Mentors provide
a support system for the Fellows that helps create a sense of belonging. The
experiences of both Undergraduate Fellows and Peer Mentors indicate that forging
peer relationships and getting advice from graduate students who conduct research
themselves can enhance a mentoring program tremendously. 
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