About

What is MOSAIC?

The Mentoring of Students and Igniting Community (MOSAIC) program is a faculty-to-student mentorship program for underrepresented students including those who self-identify as first-generation students, students of color, and their allies.   This program is open to all students. The goal of MOSAIC is to ultimately create support that fosters community between faculty and students. Mentorship is identified as a critical component for the personal and professional growth for marginalized students in graduate schools of public health but is generally provided to undergraduate students. Graduate students often express lack of institutional support, difficulty fostering relationships with faculty, limited career preparedness, and trouble finding community amongst peers as gaps that need to be filled. 

Founded in 2019 by Drs. Stephanie Grilo and Goleen Samari of the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, MOSAIC aims to fill mentorship gaps for public health graduate students, namely, underrepresented students including those who self-identify as first-generation students, students of color, and their allies. MOSAIC provides group mentorship, support, resources, academic and professional development, and career advice for students across all six Mailman departments. Through faculty mentorship, events, and alumni connections, MOSAIC is designed to provide additional guidance and support in navigating graduate public health school and professional development to ensure successful public health careers. Now recognized as the first mentorship program of its kind at a School of Public Health, MOSAIC serves as a model for all schools and programs of publlic health. 

Five Domains of MOSAIC