Francesca Gacho is a PhD candidate in the English department writing her dissertation on Victorian literature and social statistics. A first-generation immigrant by way of the Philippines, Francesca has worked in Federal TRIO programs (McNair Scholars, Upward Bound) supporting first-generation, underrepresented students like herself to begin, complete, and advance their college education. Currently, she serves as the Graduate Writing Coach at USC Annenberg School of Communication.  

ON PEER MENTORING: 

Peer mentorship is so valuable, especially for first-generation and nontraditional graduate students, because it helps to demystify and clarify the various challenges and opportunities of the grad school experience. Grad school can be a challenging time as we go through so many processes of becoming: as scholars, as individuals, as members of larger professional and intellectual communities, and more. I think peer mentorship can help grad students navigate these stages with someone who can empathize, validate, and support because they’ve been there or can understand the perspective. It’s also a great way to give back and help other students gain the kind of institutional knowledge unique to peer networks.  

ADVICE TO INCOMING CGU STUDENTS

Two pieces of advice: First, go to the Center for Writing and Rhetoric (CWR) early and often. Learn how to talk about writing, how to read an academic text rhetorically, and how to apply rhetorical moves to your own writing. So much of our work as scholars-in-training relies on our writing/speaking/presentation skills to communicate to different audiences the ideas we are learning and creating. Second, try to make friends with and attend events by students from other departments/schools. Grad school does not have to be a narrow experience of honing our own expertise. It’s a good way to learn from other people and other ways of thinking as well as cultivate intellectual curiosity and generosity.