On Being an Excellent Protege

Two decades of research in the field of mentoring demonstrates that proteges reap a wide range of benefits from mentor relationships (e.g., increased academic and professional satisfaction and success). Unfortunately, not all graduate students establish and maintain mentorships. This article offers a profile of the excellent graduate school protege, and contrasts the traits and behaviors of successful proteges with those of graduate students less likely to be mentored. The article concludes with several strategies for graduate students committed to establishing and maintaining a successful graduate school mentorship. College faculty and counseling center staff might share this material with advisees and clients as a means of enhancing the probability that those students admitted to or enrolled in graduate programs will be mentored.