About Us
Who we are
We are SEAS graduate students, each experiencing the highs and lows of graduate school, and looking to create a supportive and welcoming community for our peers and for ourselves.
Our mission
Our mission is to create a student culture at SEAS that prioritizes student well-being. We address the imposter phenomenon, stress, isolation that students commonly experience over the course of their program. We do this by promoting open and honest communication about:
- Work/life balance
- Mental health, imposter phenomenon and isolation
- Managing advising and collaborator relationships
- Bullying and harassment
- Navigating program requirements (e.g. what is a manageable G1 course load?)
- Navigating personal conflicts with friends, significant others, etc.
What we do
Biweekly Coffee Chat: A safe space (with free food and coffee) for graduate students across SEAS to develop a broader sense of community, share in the highs and the lows, and to ask for advice from InTouch peers and/or fellow students.
One-on-one chats: We (“peer mentors”) meet with anyone who wants to discuss a specific or personal topic in detail.
There are certain issues we are not trained to help with. For example,
- We cannot provide a medical perspective or psychotherapy.
- We cannot provide mental health counseling.
However, we can talk through issues and connect you with additional resources.
Our obligation is to keep all chats are private and discreet. That is, we will not share any details of our conversations with faculty or administrative staff unless you request otherwise. There are a few exceptions:
- Our faculty advisor will be notified of extenuating circumstances if we perceive threat of harm to self or others.
- Issues of sexual harrasment must be reported, as required by Title IX.