Presenting the 2023 Mentor Collective Scholarship Winners!

Each year, Mentor Collective enables student success by building a culture of mentorship on campuses across the country. But that's not the only way we help students thrive in their college experience. Each spring, we also award a number of scholarships to first-generation mentors and mentees. Why? Because access to support - be it academic, social, or financial - is essential to a fruitful college career. Today, we're introducing you to our winners and honorable mention recipients. 

Congratulations to everyone - we're so grateful that you shared your stories with us, and we can't wait to see how you'll shine!

Meet: Andrea | Janvi | Karla | Kayla | Ky | Marneli | Nicole | Tabitha | Tyler

Andrea Fonseca, Florida International University

Role: Mentee
Class: First Year

What are your academic and/or career goals? I aspire to be able to attend graduate school and pursue my degree in journalism!

What would you like to say to your mentor about your experience? Thank you for being there, when I felt like I didn't know what to do!

As a scholarship applicant, you provided tips for mentors/mentees. Is there a piece of advice you would provide to your younger self? The future isn't as bleak as you might think it is. My mind always tended to shift to the worst outcome, when in reality everything will work out.

Our favorite piece of Andrea's submission: this wonderful advice she gave to aspiring mentees!

"Once you've matched, you might be wondering, 'how do I reach out to my mentor?' Just remember: it's always weird meeting someone for the first time. Remember, your mentor is purposefully here to answer any questions you may have - about your campus, social life, personal questions - and they are there to help you with anything you might need."

Janvi Kaushal, University of California at Riverside

Role: Mentee
Class: First Year

What are your academic and/or career goals? During my 2nd year at UCR, I aim to get accepted into the School of Business at UC Riverside with a concentration in finance. While I work towards my bachelor's degree, I will take part in several student-lead organizations that allow me to divulge further into the world of business and gain insight regarding internships, resume building, career development, and networking.

I hope to take part in several internship opportunities during my time at UCR so that I can gain real-world knowledge and application skills of the material learned inside the classroom. After obtaining my bachelor's, I will aim to convert one of these internship positions into a full-time job opportunity that I can engage in while working towards my Master's Degree.

Finally, I hope to use my business experiences in the business world and bring them back to my community. I hope to work with the Coachella Valley and use my business connections, administration, and finance skills to bring recourses to the valley that nurtured me since I immigrated to the United States.

What would you like to say to your mentor about your experience? During my time as a mentee in the 1st year Mentor Collective Program at UC Riverside, I was paired with Katherine Pulido. I would like to say thank you and show my appreciation towards Katherine and her unwavering support in getting me settled into college, especially as a 1st generation student. Katherine was always available to offer me support and guidance, regardless of the topic or concern. With Katherine's help, I was able to become familiar with and join several on-campus organizations that help me build my business and networking skills.

As a scholarship applicant, you provided tips for mentors/mentees. Is there a piece of advice you would provide to your younger self? A piece of advice that I would provide to my younger self is to not stress over things that are out of my control. Throughout high school, I was constantly stressed regarding schoolwork, assignments, extracurricular activities, and even part-time work that I would never allocate time to unwind and work on myself.

One thing college has taught me is that I can not be the best version of myself academically and professionally if I do not prioritize my physical and mental health. It is extremely significant to allow yourself time to destress and look away from work, even if it is only for five minutes. Whether this means going outdoors or simply engaging with friends, the only way to accumulate less stress is to give yourself proper rest and care.

Our favorite piece of Janvi's submission: this thoughtful reflection on the particular value of mentorship to first-generation students!

"Although I have the complete support of my parents and family, there are certain aspects of the college experience that they will never understand, nor have the capacity to advise me through. As a result, finding this mentorship program and getting matched with a mentor has been a great privilege and special support system in the absence of family experience."

Karla Medrano-Faz, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Role: Mentor
Class: Third Year

What are your academic and/or career goals? My career goals are to be able to work for Pinterest.

What would you like to say to your mentees about your experience? Thank you for having that trust in me and communicating frequently with me.

As a scholarship applicant, you provided tips for mentors/mentees. Is there a piece of advice you would provide to your younger self?  A piece of advice I'd give my younger self, is stay calm, everything will eventually work out, mainly when you least expect it.

Our favorite piece of Karla's submission: this incredibly collaborative effort she and her mentees made to achieve a common goal!

"[Our] constant communication that we have has helped us even plan a fundraiser for all of us for study abroad. Each one of my mentees voiced to me, 'hey, I want to do [a] study abroad; however, I don't know how to get started.' [We] had an idea, so we can start raising money for all of us. And of course, since they [and I] are marketing majors, it was like, 'Obviously this isn't for a grade or anything, but it is for practice.' So we tried to implement an idea: how are you going to reach out to people? How are you going to market this?

I feel like it's a great way, knowing that these girls were a great match for me. I see their ambition, I feel like we worked really well together, [and] I really really appreciate it."

Kayla Maze, Oglethorpe University

HONORABLE MENTION
Role: Mentee
Class: First Year

What are your academic and/or career goals? I am striving to become a Child and Family therapist amongst other counseling practices. I will then use my performing arts minor and social work to create a form of dance/improv therapy.

What would you like to say to your mentor about your experience? Don’t overthink how you’re handling me, mentees understand that mentors have lives too.

As a scholarship applicant, you provided tips for mentors/mentees. Is there a piece of advice you would provide to your younger self?  Allow myself to make mistakes, which would open the door for assistance and true networking.

Our favorite piece of Kayla's submission: the honesty she displayed in sharing her top tip for mentees!

"Stop being scared. Stop being scared to ask questions, stop being scared to ask for help. Don't be scared to ask for help. I put this as #1 because that's what got me! Don't be scared to ask your mentor - or even anyone else besides your mentor - what to do, where to go, and who to talk to."

Ky Tran, Georgia Institute of Technology

HONORABLE MENTION
Role: Mentee
Class: First Year

What are your academic and/or career goals? I want to go into cybersecurity after I graduate and make an impact on other people.

What would you like to say to your mentor about your experience? Thank you for being an awesome mentor!

As a scholarship applicant, you provided tips for mentors/mentees. Is there a piece of advice you would provide to your younger self?  Be brave and be yourself. Try new things, meet new people, and always be open to opportunities.

Our favorite piece of Ky's submission: the creativity he displayed in guiding mentees on how to set up meetings with their mentors!

"If they have a car and [are] willing to take you somewhere off-campus, try food places or different things around campus. If they don't, find things to do on campus. I generally catch up over a meal or work out with my mentor."

Marneli Pascacio, Oregon State University

Role: Mentor
Class: Fourth Year

What are your academic and/or career goals? For both my educational and career goals, I plan to travel for my job to practice the international business aspect of my degree. The way I plan to accomplish this is by applying to travel abroad for the College of Business Exchange Program, in which I recently found out that I got accepted to go! It’s a huge deal for both my family and I because it’s a grand opportunity that I’ll be able to experience.

My parents are my biggest motivators for constantly believing in me and wanting to create a difference for my future. As a first generation student, I’m honored that my parents are supporting my decision to go to Oregon State despite it being over a hundred miles away from home. Because of this, I strive to be a successful Hispanic businesswoman and break the cycle of poverty that immigrant families constantly face.

I have so much determination to obtain my degree and knowing that there’s so much within business simply fascinates me to continue this career. It’ll require me to make very important life decisions as well as making huge sacrifices in order for me to continue going forward. Business Administration and Marketing will help me pave the path toward my future which is why I decided that it’s the major for me. It’s very broad and I’m open to learning anything needed for the job because I’m fond of understanding different concepts.

The knowledge and skills that go behind this major is something that I’m continuously developing along the way to make my career goals possible. Once I finish my term abroad, I’ll also be able to implement my knowledge in international businesses as well.

What would you like to say to your mentees about your experience? I want to let my past and current mentees know that I appreciate them being vulnerable and allowing me to guide them throughout their first year within the College of Business at OSU.

I'm extremely proud of everything that they're doing because no journey is the same and updating me when a new accomplishment arises. I'm filled with a sense of happiness because our meetings feel more like a conversation amongst friends. We're usually always going above our required time because we have so much to talk about or have updates that we're excited to share.

I'm honored to have been their mentor because I feel that they teach me something new every day.

As a scholarship applicant, you provided tips for mentors/mentees. Is there a piece of advice you would provide to your younger self?  A piece of advice that I would provide to my younger self would be to not see my failures negatively.

As hard as it is to see the positive side within these difficult encounters, these failures truly shape us to be who we are later in the future. It will only get better because now I'll understand what didn't work and how to prevent my siblings going through the same thing.

Finally, to not be so hard on myself because at the end of the day, there's no guide on how to be a first-gen student without making mistakes.

Our favorite piece of Marneli's submission: the vulnerability she showed in turning a less-than-ideal first year experience into motivation to mentor others!

"I got really excited and wanted to apply [as a mentor], and hopefully change that status of how I felt. And thankfully, when I did do that, I got assigned to two incredible mentees [...] - and they've helped me feel as though I belonged! I, in a sense told them a little bit of my story [of] why I'm doing what I currently do now. I would be completely transparent with them, and they personally tell me 'you're doing such a great job' and [...] that's the most heartwarming compliment I can receive as a student."

Nicole Kay Agustin, California State University at Long Beach

Role: Mentor
Class: Third Year

What are your academic and/or career goals? My career goal is to become a Physician Assistant and provide quality medical care in underserved communities.

What would you like to say to your mentees about your experience? To my mentees: You all inspire me so much, and just like I have told you all, I would not be a great mentor with I didn't have great mentees! I cannot wait to see how much you all grow throughout the next 3 years!

As a scholarship applicant, you provided tips for mentors/mentees. Is there a piece of advice you would provide to your younger self?  A piece of advice that I would provide to my younger self is to be patient and know your hard work and efforts will soon pay off. On days where you feel like giving up, just know everything will be worth it!

Our favorite piece of Nicole's submission: the evocative way she described her learning process to grow into the best mentor she could be!

"One of my mentees stressed every day about the fear of disappointing their parents. And another mentee struggled with balancing their time between taking care of his siblings, while completing his homework. I would never gained as much perspective and empathy if it wasn't for this mentorship program.

The more I talked to each mentee, the more I resonated with them. At one point, it started to feel like I was talking to my past self. And once I came to that realization, I knew the best way to lead them: to think back to when I was a lost first-generation student, try to think about what I looked for in a mentor, and I became that person I wish I had."

Tabitha Oyewole, Georgia Southern University

Role: Mentee
Class: First Year Graduate Student

What are your academic and/or career goals? To get my PhD and become a professor.

What would you like to say to your mentor about your experience? I want to express my gratitude to my mentor for assisting me in getting through my first semester at Georgia Southern University. I'm glad I signed up for the mentoring program since my mentor has been a huge help to me in accomplishing my academic goals.

As a scholarship applicant, you provided tips for mentors/mentees. Is there a piece of advice you would provide to your younger self?

I would tell my younger self to communicate her challenges clearly and that she is not too young to be great at everything.

Our favorite piece of Tabitha's submission: the incredible results she got from sharing her biggest challenges with her mentor...and using the advice shared with her!

"One of the challenges I knew I was going to face in graduate school was balancing my studies with work, family, and my social life [...] I shared it with my mentor, and she encouraged me through a personal story and also shared a few resources that helped me. I can boldly say that I had a great social life last semester, I made time for my family (which they can attest to), and I [got] a 4.0 GPA."

Tyler Kelley, University of California Davis

Role: Mentor
Class: Second Year Graduate Student

What are your academic and/or career goals? Ph.D.

As a scholarship applicant, you provided tips for mentors/mentees. Is there a piece of advice you would provide to your younger self?  I would tell my younger self to always help others and to try your best. Also, to always be kind because you never know what someone else is going through.

Our favorite piece of Tyler's submission: his succinct but essential advice about offering feedback - something so many folks, mentors and mentees alike, often need help with!

"It is important to give your mentee honest and specific feedback on [their] progress. It is also important to focus on helping your mentee improve and grow, rather than judging [them]."