Graduate Student Peer Mentor Awards
2023 Outstanding Graduate Student Peer Mentor Awards
The UC Berkeley Outstanding Graduate Student Peer Mentor Award honors Berkeley graduate and professional students who have shown an outstanding commitment to mentoring, advising, and generally supporting either undergraduate students or their fellow graduate students.
The Graduate Assembly will present four awards to selected mentors each year. Although only one nomination letter is required for a mentor to be considered for the award, we encourage nominators to reach out to others to provide supplemental letters of nomination. Read on for more details on nomination process and submit your letter through this form. The deadline is Friday, February 24, 2023, 11:59 p.m. Email the GA President Chief of Staff if you have questions at chief-ga@berkeley.edu.
Nominee Eligibility
Any student who is currently enrolled in a graduate or professional degree program at UC Berkeley at the time of nomination is eligible to receive the award. Both full-time and part-time students can be nominated for this award. Individuals who have previously won the Graduate Student Peer Mentor Award are not eligible to be nominated. Previous nominees who have not received the award may be re-nominated.
Selection Criteria
The Graduate Student Peer Mentor Award recognizes graduate and professional students who have demonstrated excellence in mentoring and advising of either undergraduate students or other graduate student peers. The selection committee encourages nominators to focus on specific stories and situations in which the nominee demonstrated mentoring which went above and beyond the norm. Examples of nomination letter topics include:
- How has the nominee provided outstanding personal support and development to the nominator(s)?
- How has the nominee shaped and inspired the professional work of the nominator(s)?
- How has the nominee fostered inclusive and supportive communities in their workspaces?
- How has the nominee supported the advancement of the careers of the nominators(s)?
Nomination Process
Only one nomination is required for a mentor to be considered for the award. If there are multiple nomination letters, one of the nominators must indicate they are the primary nominator. The primary nominator must be a present or former Berkeley student (undergraduate or graduate). Associate nominators can include postdocs, faculty, staff, or consist of jointly written letters.
Nominators must submit their nomination through this form. The deadline is Friday, February 24, 2023, 11:59 p.m.
The award ceremony will be held April 26, 2023 from 5 to 7pm at the Alumni House on campus.
Previous Graduate Student Peer Mentor Awards Winners
2022 Winners:
Michael Banerjee, Ph.D. Student, Jurisprudence and Social Policy
Caleb Dawson, Ph.D. Candidate, Graduate School of Education
Emma Lurie, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Information
Alisha Menon, Ph.D Candidate, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
2021 Winners:
Carolina Talavera, Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology
Peter Kloess, Ph.D. Candidate in Integrative Biology
Zacharias Vangelatos, Ph.D. Candiate in Mechanical Engineering
Desirée Valadares, Ph.D. Candidate in Architecture
