Developing a professional mentor relationship: 5 points (No picture)

 I have been taking classes with Dr. Rebecca Kumar since spring of 2025 and am currently taking my fourth class with her. In the time I’ve had her as a professor, she’s greatly expanded my knowledge of film. Taking one class with her was enough to make me switch my English major deep study from writing to literary/film studies. With her, I've taken Queer and Trans* Cinema, Cinema Literacies, Feminist Film Criticism, and I'm currently taking Superheroes From Page to Screen. As her student, I’ve been to office hours, been active in class, and I genuinely believe that my best work in my college career has come from her classes and under her guidance. We have progressed to the point where she has recommended graduate programs to me, talked to me about connections and advice for my desired field, written one of my letters of recommendation, and coached me through the graduate school application process. I have boundless appreciation for her teaching and her mentorship, and am excited to see what more I learn from her this semester.

We don't have a picture together, but we've done a lot of work that's developed me as a scholar and my career.

By Samantha Hines