The Rainbow Coalition is launching a new mentorship program for the ASU community, called Rainbow Connections.
Antonio Duran, the chair and founder of Rainbow Connections, and an associate professor at the Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, said the program was first drafted in the fall of 2024 because he saw the need for a mentoring program on campus.
READ MORE: BREAKING: ASU changes LGBTQ+ resources on University webpages
"I brought together a committee of students, staff and faculty to think through, 'What is this program going to look like?'" Duran said. "But we wanted to do it with intention. We wanted it to be well thought out (and) well put together."
Two of the members on this committee are sophomore Parker Powley, who is studying chemistry and physics, and graduate support coordinator Meghan McDermott, who serves as vice-president of the LGBTQ+ Faculty and Staff Association.
Last year, Powley was an intern for the Rainbow Coalition executive board. She now serves as a student voice on the Rainbow Connections committee.
Powley described the goal of the mentorship program as being able to "offer the ability to have identity-based mentoring" at ASU.
Another goal of the program is to connect LGBTQ+ students with supportive campus role models who can help provide inspiration, guidance and encouragement to students, according to the Rainbow Connections website.
"In a time when queer and trans people on a national and global level are feeling targeted or feeling rendered invisible in a lot of ways ... it is really exciting to see places where we can center connection and center joy," Duran said.
Applications aren't just open to students; Rainbow Connection is also looking for mentor positions to be filled with ASU staff members.
Duran said ASU staff mentors will receive specialized training to adequately prepare to manage certain situations and experiences, and to know what resources are available to students.
"Representation is really important, especially for young people that are still exploring what it means to potentially be part of the LGBTQ community," McDermott said. "As faculty and staff, no matter where we're at in our own journey of figuring that out, we all recognize how important that representation is for us and our experience."
Both mentee and mentor applicants can say who they are looking to be matched with based on social identities, academic degrees, career pathways and social interests.
"The interesting thing is, the mentorship can be sort of whatever the mentors and mentees want from it," Powley said. "It can be more identity-based and about belonging and connection, or it can be purely professional and academic."
Aside from mentor-mentee meetings, program leaders also ask the duos to go to one ASU or local event together per semester.
"We really want to encourage everybody in our community to ... go out and be in the world, and experience community with one another," McDermott said.
Students and ASU faculty can apply for this program through Sept. 30 on the Rainbow Connections website.
Edited by Sophia Braccio, Henry Smardo, Tiya Talwar, Katrina Michalak and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at galawre3@asu.edu.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Grace Lawrence is a reporter for the community culture desk at The Arizona State Press. This is her 1st semester working with The State Press.
