ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors highlight the SistUH Scholars initiative at the University of Houston. This initiative provides a space for Black women doctoral students within the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies to gather together monthly to support their in doctoral socialization within the academy and collectively support each other’s personal well-being, professional development, and career advancement. Authors engaged the sista circle methodology, an emerging qualitative method that legitimizes “mentoring as research,” to collect focus group data, alongside monthly participant diaries using prompts. This chapter overviews the development of the initiative, provides recommendations for institutionalizing such an initiative, and shares student data regarding the role of mentoring in socialization.
