Handbook
Program Overview
The GEMS program was started in 2021 to create a mentorship structure for undergraduates interested in applying to graduate school and for fellowships. The primary piece of our program is matching undergraduates with mentors, who are senior grad students, postdocs, and faculty. We also aim to provide mentors and mentees with resources on our website.
Program Structure
The GEMS program consists of two tracks that mentees may apply to depending on their current stage in the graduate school application process. Mentors may indicate in their mentor application that they are willing to support students on one or both tracks.
Ruby Track: for individuals interested in going to graduate school in the future
Mentees are undergraduate students or recent graduates interested in going to graduate school in the future but not applying to graduate school during the current cycle. Support offered by mentors may include: general advice on graduate school application process and timeline, guidance in career planning and professional development, advice on preparing for graduate school.
Sapphire Track: for individuals who are currently applying to graduate programs
Mentees are undergraduate students, recent graduates, returning students, or current graduate students applying to graduate school during the current cycle (2022-2023). Support offered by mentors may include: guidance throughout the graduate school application process, help setting and meeting personal deadlines for deliverables, general feedback and editing of application materials.
All participants in GEMS will have access to GEMS resources on the program website and the GEMS Discord community, including channels for connecting with other mentees and mentors, learning about fellowship opportunities, and attending scheduled “Ask Me Anything” sessions. Mentors and mentees can reach out to the GEMS team with any questions or concerns at geo.mentorship@gmail.com.
Timeline
Applications for prospective GEMS mentors and mentees open at the beginning of August. There are two rounds of matching with staggered cutoff dates (see the 2022-2023 schedule below). After assigning your match, the GEMS team will send out periodic check-ins with mentors and mentees, so please monitor your email for GEMS announcements. These check-ins will allow us to address any matching issues, and your reflections and suggestions help us improve the program.
For students who applied for the Ruby Track, please note that you are welcome to apply to the Sapphire Track in a future year for additional mentoring.
Mentor Guidelines
Thank you for agreeing to be a mentor with GEMS! Mentors provide support for mentees who are preparing applications for graduate programs and fellowship applications. These application processes can be daunting for mentees to navigate, particularly if it’s their first time or if they are not familiar with the academic system. As a mentor, we hope that you can draw on your own experience (or that of your cohort) to help guide students through these applications.
Getting Started
Introduce yourself. When you receive your match, please reach out to your mentee and help set-up your first meeting. We have provided a mentor-mentee agreement form for you to fill out together during the first meeting. This can be used to establish a mutual understanding of the commitment and specify modes of communication and response times.
Set mutual expectations of time and work commitments at your first meeting. We have provided a meeting and application tracker to map out deliverable timelines and set meeting frequencies and times. We suggest ending each meeting with set dates for the next meeting.
Listen to the needs of your mentee. Each mentee will be at a different stage in this process. Try to understand what they are looking for in this mentoring program. Is it general guidance for the application process? Feedback on draft statements? Do they know where they want to apply? Mentorship means taking an interest in your mentee's specific professional development needs.
Mentoring Logistics
Set goals and expectations early. Mentees have been instructed to come to meetings with questions/goals prepared in advance. Once you understand your mentee's goals, make a plan together to accomplish them.
Have regular meetings. We suggest having regular meetings with your mentee throughout the semester. Early on, these meetings may be filling out worksheets and brainstorming, but, as deadlines approach, include deliverables for the next meeting. For example, if an applicant is working on an NSF GRFP application, the specific deliverable might be: by next week’s meeting, have an outline of the Graduate Research Plan Statement drafted.
Create a meeting agenda. Use our meeting and application tracker to keep track of meeting agendas so you come prepared to discuss specific deliverables. Mentees have been instructed to prepare questions and goals in advance of meetings as well. If they are having a difficult time with this, please work with them to create agendas together.
Mentoring Approach
Be understanding. This is difficult and new territory for many students. Meet your mentee where they are at, not where you were at this stage, or where you think they should be.
Be adaptable. We encourage you to set expectations and goals with your mentees early on, but things will change. Your mentee undoubtedly has a life and career outside these applications. When unexpected shifts or hurdles arise, help your mentee decide on a new set of goals and move forward.
Be approachable. Try to get to know your mentee as a human, and be a human yourself. Ask why they want to apply to graduate programs, and share with them why you wanted to be a mentor. Be open with your past mistakes and failures. Congratulate them on their successes and be understanding if there are disappointments.
Reach out to us if it’s not a fit. If there is a mismatch between your time availability, expertise, or experience and what your mentee is looking for, let us know. We can always try to find a better match. You can email the GEMS team with any questions or concerns at geo.mentorship@gmail.com.
Mentee Guidelines
Mentors can provide incredibly useful support and guidance for learning how to navigate graduate school and fellowship applications. It is equally important that you take some time and consider your role in the mentoring relationship before meeting. Below are some guidelines and tips for you to consider to get the most out of this mentoring program.Getting Started
Introduce yourself. When you receive your match, please reach out to your mentor and help set-up your first meeting. We have provided a mentor-mentee agreement form for you to fill out together during the first meeting. This will help you and your mentor establish a mutual understanding of the commitment and specify modes of communication and response times.
Set mutual expectations of time and work commitments at your first meeting. We have provided a meeting and application tracker to map out deliverable timelines and set meeting frequencies and times. We suggest ending each meeting with set dates for the next meeting.
Track, manage, and set action items. Before each meeting, consider what your goals are for the meeting and establish deliverables together. This is important because your interactions with your mentor are strictly virtual. The graduate school meeting planner and application trackers (linked above) will help keep both mentees and mentors on track. These also are useful ways to map out longer-term goals; for example, if you know your application is due in December, you can back out deadlines for your deliverable (ex., personal statement) and associated edits so that they work cohesively with the final deadline.
Getting Help: Email the GEMS team with any questions or concerns at geo.mentorship@gmail.com.
General Tips
Realize that your mentor does not know everything. They have volunteered their time because they value your professional development. We recognize that this process may be entirely new to you (this is precisely why we created GEMS!). We find that mentoring relationships are best viewed as networks (see here to fill out your own!) - with nodes that you can grow and nurture as you move along in your professional and personal development pathways. You can think of your mentor as filling one node of a complex network map; they will not have answers to all of your questions.
2. Plan ahead and set goals. It’s important that you plan ahead. You have the opportunity to interact and learn from someone who has been through the entire process before! Leverage this time and come prepared with your personal goals and questions. Please know that your mentor is not responsible for finding programs or fellowships for you, writing your applications, etc. You should think about what kind of help you want (feedback on a specific fellowship application) and what types of questions you have.
3. Be understanding and follow through. Recognize that your mentor is human, and clear communication is important. With that said, if you feel that your mentor is not effective or the ‘right’ fit for your needs, then please reach out to us and we will do our best to match you with someone else.
Code of Conduct
This code of conduct governs the environment of the Geoscience Education & Mentorship Support (GEMS) mentor-mentee match program. We believe that articulating our values and obligations to one another reinforces respect among the participants and having a code provides us with clear avenues to correct our culture should it ever stray from that course. To our mentors and mentees, we commit to enforce and evolve this code as our program grows.
Scope
The contents of this code of conduct apply to interactions between mentors, mentees, and GEMS members, including email exchanges, social media, Discord, Zoom meetings, and any other method of contact within the mentor-mentee match program.
Values
We want our program to be a fun, constructive, and safe space for all members. We value inclusivity within our program because we believe we have an obligation to work toward broadening participation in the geosciences.
Expected Behavior
Treat your match with respect. Adopt habits that are inclusive and constructive for your mentor-mentee relationship: document meetings and pay attention to time zones when scheduling events/meetings.
Be understanding of your match, proactively, and responsively. This program is built on the goodwill of each other to improve our community, and many volunteer their time to work towards this goal.
Be open. It's okay to ask for help and feedback from each other. Don't succumb to impostor syndrome. You belong here, you and your ideas are valued.
Be humane. Be polite and friendly in all forms of communication, especially remote, where opportunities for misunderstanding are greater.
Maintain confidentiality. Respect the privacy of your match and do not share any information that was shared with you in confidence.
Unacceptable behaviors
Our program is committed to providing a welcoming and safe environment for people of all races, gender identities, gender expressions, sexual orientations, physical abilities, physical appearances, socioeconomic backgrounds, life experiences, nationalities, ages, religions, and beliefs. Discrimination and harassment are expressly prohibited in our program. Harassment may include, but is not limited to, intimidation; stalking; unwanted recording or photography; inappropriate physical contact; use of sexual or discriminatory imagery, comments, or jokes; intentional or repeated misgendering; sexist, racist, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory or derogatory language; and unwelcome sexual attention. In order to provide such an environment, we commit to being considerate in our language use. Any behavior or language which is unwelcoming is also not allowed. Violations of this code can result in removal from the program.
Reporting a problem
Contact the GEMS team. We will help you navigate the situation in a way that you are most comfortable with.
Committing to Improvement
We understand that nobody is perfect. It is expected that all of us, regardless of our backgrounds, will fail to live up to our high standards. What matters isn’t having a perfect track record, but owning up to your mistakes and making a clear and persistent effort to improve. If you are approached as having (consciously or otherwise) acted in a way that might make anyone in the program feel unwelcome, refrain from being defensive; remember that if someone calls you out, it likely took a great deal of courage for them to do so. The best way to respect that courage is to acknowledge your mistake, apologize, and move on—with a renewed commitment to do better.
Adapted from the Vox Code of Conduct
Discord Guidelines
The GEMS Discord Server
The GEMS steering committee maintains an invite-only Discord server, which is open to all mentors and mentees. This server is a space for the GEMS community to discuss mentoring, graduate school and fellowship applications, and other topics relevant to the program.
Harassment
We want this to be a useful, pleasant, and harassment-free space for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of community members in any form.
Harassment includes:
Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion
Unwelcome comments regarding a person’s lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, drugs, and employment.
Deliberate misgendering or use of ‘dead’ or rejected names
Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behavior in spaces where they’re not appropriate
Simulated physical contact (e.g. textual descriptions like “hug” or “backrub”) without consent or after a request to stop.
Threats of violence
Incitement of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm
Deliberate intimidation
Sustained disruption of discussion
Unwelcome sexual attention
Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease
Publication of non-harassing private communication
Reporting Harassment
If you are being harassed, you notice someone else being harassed, or you have any other concerns, please contact the admins at geo.mentorship@gmail.com. We will respond as promptly as we can. We will not name harassment victims without their affirmative consent.
Members asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately, and repeated or egregious harassing behavior will lead to removal from the Discord server and the GEMS program. Any disciplinary action, up to and including removal from the program, will be taken as deemed appropriate by the GEMS steering committee and Discord server moderators.
Confidentiality
Some channels in this server are private and may contain sensitive information. Please keep what’s said in private channels confidential, unless you have the affirmative consent of the speaker(s). Please be mindful that anything said in this server remains private only so long as community members honor the confidentiality of the space. It is also important to note that things you say here may at some point become public.
Credits and License
This code of conduct is based on Annalee Flower Horne's Sample Slack Code of Conduct, which is in turn based on Geek Feminism's Community Anti-Harassment Policy. We have adapted the Sample Slack Code of Conduct for our own use under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.