We are the UCSC PBSci Peer Mentoring Coalition (PPMC) and we’re asking for your support.
Earning a graduate degree in science is extremely challenging and many students struggle to complete their studies. PPMC provides graduate students valuable social and community assistance outside of the research lab—in support of their overall success.
Run by a team of graduate students, PPMC provides collaborative peer-mentoring solutions across the Physical and Biological Sciences (PBSci) division for graduate students. Mentoring creates support networks, enhances a sense of community among grad students, and is critical for fostering student persistence. The global pandemic, ongoing systemic racism, and worsening financial precarity necessitate we increase our level of support to ensure student success.
Campus surveys demonstrate the need for social and community support: 53% of PBSci graduate students felt they did not belong to their department, with 60% of first-generation students, 59% of students of color, and 55% of women-identifying graduate students reporting that they lacked a sense of belonging in their departments. The climate survey underscored the need for improving mental health services and resources to support graduate students, as 60% of students interviewed experienced depression and anxiety during their time at UCSC.
Your gift today will enable PPMC to expand the peer-mentoring program and provide additional student support including workshops on effective mentoring and mental health, team building luncheons, and social events for mentors and mentees. Funds would also allow compensation of grad mentors and program organizers, which to date have all been volunteer positions.
The students say it best:
“The peer mentoring program was a real lifeline for me. I moved to Santa Cruz during the pandemic, knowing nobody in town. My mentor was really my only friend when I first got here! I think I would've been lost without her.” ~Ocean Science Mentee
“As a new graduate student I was feeling anxious about my PhD journey. However, I was relieved once I met with my METX peer mentors and I look forward to each of our meetings. They created an environment for me to be vulnerable, to ask for help/advice when needed, and to hear about their own experiences in grad school. Because of my METX peer mentors I feel more at ease. I know that if I ever have a question or concern I can reach out to them! Thank you to the METX Peer Mentor Program!" ~METX Mentee
Increasing peer-mentoring and support for the graduate-student community and student well-being is essential for UCSC graduate students to succeed in meeting their personal and professional goals. Your gift today will provide our graduate students with these critical services—please join us in making a difference and helping our graduate students succeed.
Follow us on Instagram @pbscipeermentoringcoalition!