Esprit de Corps literally means "spirit of the group". If you've ever been on a sports team that had great morale and team spirit, you've experienced esprit de corps. It is a shared spirit of camaraderie, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group.
The Esprit de Corps Program is a mentorship program for 1st year PhD students from diverse backgrounds (racial and ethnic, 1st generation, LGBTQ+, disadvantaged, and/or with disabilities). Older student mentors (year 2+) help 1st year PhD students navigate graduate school during their first year, while building community among our diverse cohort of students.
All members:
*Seminars are open to all students
Members are matched with PhD student or postdoc mentors known as near Peer-Mentors. As part of their mentoring portfolio, near Peer-Mentors go through a training session where they actively participate in workshops involving communication, stereotype threat, and community cultural wealth. With these tools, plus their sharing perosnal insights that are focused on lessons learned - near Peer-Mentors help Esprit de Corps members successfully navigate the first year of their PhD. Mentor-mentee pairs meet monthly.
Esprit de Corps is centered on a supportive community. Community is developed through activities that foster collaboration and facilitate interaction. These activities include regular social events sponsored by the Office of Student Diversity, peer mentoring, and a retreat that integrates members into the larger tri-institutional community.
To join the Esprit de Corps Program as a mentee:
To join as a Esprit de Corps Program as a near Peer-Mentor:
All Weill Cornell Graduate School and Tri-Institutional 1st year PhD students are invited to join via email early in the summer. Space is limited, but we do our best to try to accommodate as many participants as possible.
If you cannot find or did not receive this invitation, you can apply here.
If you would like to join as a near peer-mentor, you can apply: here.
If you have any questions - reach out at wcgsdiversity&outreach@med.cornell.edu.