Relationships often have many levels, and Stephanie Joseph and Grace Fielder's is no exception.

Not only are they student and instructor, but they have also been student and mentor.

Joseph, a Russian and Soviet studies sophomore, said her mentor is one of the best things that happened to her at the University of Arizona. As a transfer student who had taken one year's worth of classes without knowing what she wanted to do, Joseph said, she needed direction in her life.

"I went to get advising in the College of Arts and Sciences," Joseph said. "An adviser told me that if I wanted to travel in my career, I should become a pilot or a stewardess."

Joseph said she was working at the University Learning Center when she heard about the College of Humanities' mentoring program from First Year Programs Assistant Director Socorro Vasquez.

Her mentor was Fielder, a professor in Russian and Slavic linguistics.

In spring 1995, the college began offering the mentoring program to incoming students, freshmen, and transfer students. The program is open to all first-year students and does not require students to major in humanities.

Susan Bouldin, humanities administrative coordinator, said she wants more students in the program.

"We would love to have more students involved in the program," Bouldin said. "The faculty mentors have been asking, 'Where are my students?'" Fielder said it is difficult to get to know a student in the classroom.

"Sometimes students only see me in class or in my office," Fielder said. "Sometimes you don't see the whole person."

The program began as a pilot program funded through a Diversity Action Council grant, Bouldin said. She said the program has continued through the college's funding.

Since the program began, it has mentored nearly 70 students, Bouldin said. She said with 30 faculty volunteers and six staff members, the program has room for more students.

"We have room for 150 students a year," Bouldin said. "The faculty have a lot of enthusiasm about the program."

Fielder, in her fifth year teaching at the UA, said being a mentor gave her an opportunity to see the difference between today's college and what it was like when she was in school.

Fielder, who is also taking classes, said she can sympathize with student anxieties.

"I worked in the cafeteria (while she was in school), but many students have full-time jobs," Fielder said. "We have to recognize that without lowering our standards. We have to recognize the reality."

Joseph is not a typical student. After several years of attending the UA part-time, she said she plans to start going full-time in the spring.

Joseph said the program is such a good idea that all departments should have mentors available to students.

Information about the program is available at the College of Humanities in Modern Languages, Room 345, The First-Year Student Center and Minority Student Services.

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