In this presentation, we look forward to sharing some of the key lessons that we’ve learned over the past year as we developed and then implemented a graduate peer coaching program at our institution. We’ll begin by describing the need behind this program, as well as its objectives; our evolving conceptualization of “coaching” by and for grad students; and the nuts-and-bolts process of launching the initiative. Next we’ll share an overview of the program’s current elements, including selected content from our training for new coaches, as well as some of the issues that have arisen in the their subsequent consultations with “coachees.”

We’ll then discuss some of the challenges of implementing the new program during COVID-19, as well as several surprising benefits of operating it virtually (which we did not initially plan). We’ll conclude by proposing that this new initiative may be a useful model for other institutions considering ways to support graduate student scholarship and thriving - both as we continue social distancing, and certainly as we move beyond it.