Overview
The Latin American and Latinx Student Mentorship Program (LALS-MP) was established in the Winter of 2023 by members of the Latin American Network at McMaster University (LANMU). This initiative is specifically tailored to address the needs of existing, incoming, and potential students at McMaster University who are from Latin America and/or its diasporas, since recent census data in Canada shows that the number of people identifying as Latin American/Latinx is growing steadily in the region.
Program Goals
Enhance Experience
- To facilitate undergraduate students’ generative transition from secondary school to university.
- To improve the experience of Latin American and Latinx students at McMaster University.
- To increase the retention of and graduation rates of Latin American and Latinx students.
- To contribute to student success and promote excellence.
Foster Connections
- To foster connections between undergraduate and graduate students who identify as Latin American/Latinx, through spaces that will encourage growth and motivation.
- To cultivate interconnections between students and faculty who identify as Latin American/Latinx, through which students will receive guidance to ensure their success.
- To promote active mentorship relationships within the Latin American and Latinx community at McMaster, through the creation of specific support networks, so that students feel a sense of belonging through holistic guidance and advocacy.
Academic Support
- To offer academic, professional, and personal support to existing, incoming, and potential students from Latin America and its diasporas.
- To introduce students to academic and professional resources tailored to their specific needs, to promote their success in coursework, research, conferences, and other academic settings.
- To develop graduate students’ leadership skills and to connect them with community-based, and wider professional and academic organizations that will allow them to make informed decisions about their chosen career path(s).
Features of the Latin American and Latinx Student Mentorship Program
Field-Specific Mentoring
Entails one-on-one partnership between a mentor and a mentee, usually from the same program, department, and/or Faculty, to offer guidance regarding any academic-related and/or professional development topics.
General Mentoring
Entails one-on-one partnership between a mentor and mentee, regardless of program and/or disciplinary affiliation, to offer guidance regarding community-based, professional development, and/or socio-cultural belonging topics.
Active Participation
Mentorship partnerships are created through a thoughtful, deliberate matching process, promoting successful relationships in which mentors and mentees share equal responsibility as active participants in the process.
Mentor Cluster (Faculty)
Comprised of LANMU faculty members working across five Faculties (Engineering, Health Sciences, Humanities, Science, and Social Sciences), who have various academic, professional, research, and/or personal ties to Latin America and its diasporas.
Mentor Cluster (Students)
Comprised of student mentors (i.e., upper-year undergraduate and graduate students) enrolled in programs in all six Faculties (Business, Engineering, Health Sciences, Humanities, Science, and Social Sciences), who identify as Latin American/Latinx.
Program Structure
The Latin American and Latinx Student Mentorship Program is designed as a three-tiered network, built on and adapted from the success of the McMaster Black Student Mentorship Program (BSMP).
Information Box Group
Information Box Group
1st Tier
The first tier takes place with first-year undergraduate Latin American/Latinx students mentored by upper-year undergraduate/graduate Latin American/Latinx students.
2nd Tier
The second tier occurs with 2nd and 3rd-year undergraduate Latin American/Latinx students mentored by graduate Latin American/Latinx students. Students in this tier may also apply to mentor students in the first tier, as long as students in the third tier also mentor them.
3rd Tier
The third tier takes place with graduate Latin American/Latinx students partnered with other graduate Latin American/Latinx students in the program.
Role of Mentors
Faculty and student mentors will have the opportunity to:
Provide students with academic, professional, and socio-cultural guidance and assistance, whether they are transitioning from secondary to university educational settings, transferring from domestic and/or international schools; at the beginning, middle-or-final stages in their graduate careers; or seeking guidance related to common goals and interests.
Offer students information of campus resources, community-based activities, and/or pertinent resources/initiatives.
Help students learn more about academic, professional, and other pertinent opportunities, at the provincial, national, and international levels.
Equip students with the necessary tools to navigate academia, to thrive in teaching-learning settings, and to succeed in their educational journey.
Share field-specific knowledge, methodologies, resources, insights, and research.
Consider themes/topics beyond disciplinary boundaries.
Explore the possibilities of engaging in international partnerships/collaborations.
Greatly contribute to improving the experience of Latin American/Latinx students at McMaster University.
Role of Mentee
Mentored students will have the opportunity to:
Establish meaningful interconnections with peers and members of the faculty.
Learn more about campus resources, community-based activities, and/or pertinent resources/initiatives.
Engage in community-building practices that foster academic excellence and encourage personal motivation.
Learn more about academic, professional, and/or pertinent opportunities.
Receive guidance, tips, advocacy, and support from members of the Latin American/Latinx community, whose insights and experiences will encourage student success.
Acquire information, as well as the necessary tools, to better navigate academic and professional lives as Latin American/Latinx students who are part of the McMaster campus community.
Ask field-and-program-specific questions, as well as pose general inquiries, to Latin American/Latinx academics, researchers, and upper-year/graduate students.
Establish working relationships with Latin American/Latinx academic, researchers, and upper year/graduate students, which can lead to professional collaborations.
Engage in building a sustained culture of mentorship that promotes Latin American and Latinx students, and fosters an enhanced student experience, academic and research excellence at McMaster University.
Previous Years
2023-2024 Inaugural Year
