Creando Comunidad: Experiences of Latina Faculty and Staff Mentors at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

Abstract

Guided by Chicana Feminist Epistemology, the authors of this study discuss the experiences of 16 Latina faculty and staff who served as mentors in a Latina undergraduate mentoring program at a research-extensive public university designated as a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI). This article focuses on findings from interviews as mentors made sense of their own educational trajectories and discussed how the mentoring program affected them. Findings indicate that although mentors initially joined the program to guide undergraduate Latinas, they also benefitted from a faculty and staff peer network and felt a greater sense of belonging in an institution where they sometimes felt isolated. The findings demonstrate the importance of such mentoring programs at HSIs and can inform how mentoring programs for Latinx students can be designed in ways that benefit multiple stakeholders.