Cultivating Latinx Undergraduates' Belonging and Persistence Through Relationally-Based, Culturally-Centered, and Interpersonally-Specific Mentorship

Abstract

Exploring the mentoring relationship of 19 Latinx undergraduates, this qualitative study highlighted the importance of mentoring and its influence on belonging, persistence, and retention. Findings confirmed the psychosociocultural framework as integrated through the Undergraduate Mentoring Model. Building on the tenet that “mentoring matters,” the current study was among the first to assess mentoring by mentor type (i.e., peer, staff, and faculty). Using a multistep content analysis, five metathemes emerged: 1) I have a someone who gets it … gets me, 2) imagining possibilities, 3) this is how you work the system, 4) I have someone I can relate with and look up to, and 5) I have someone who believes in me, encourages me, and motivates me to not give up. The findings underscored the importance of multiple mentors throughout Latinx students’ educational journeys and revealed that effective mentoring was developmental, relationally-based, culturally-centered, and interpersonally--specific.