Faculty and graduate students bag fresh produce as part of a recent community event supported by MOSAIC.
Photo courtesy MOSAIC
When Goleen Samari PhD, MPH, MA, joined Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health as faculty in 2018, she quickly encountered an unexpected challenge.
“I literally had long lines for my office hours,” Samari told The Nation's Health.
At the time, she was one of the few women of color in the university's Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health — a disparity reflected across much of the school. Many students from diverse backgrounds gravitated toward Samari, seeking mentorship and a sense of belonging.
As senior faculty cautioned her about taking on too much individual mentoring, Samari and colleague Stephanie Grilo, PhD, decided to build something more sustainable. Together, they launched the Mentoring of Students and Igniting Community program.
Known as MOSAIC, the program has expanded since its 2019 launch of 20 students to more than 300 students across the school.
MOSAIC addresses concerns that graduate students of color frequently raise, including limited institutional support, difficulty building relationships with faculty, gaps in career preparation and challenges finding community. While open to all students, the program is designed with a particular focus on first-generation students and those from racial and ethnic minority groups.
“We know that some of these groups of students remain underrepresented in the public health workforce,” Grilo, an associate professor at the Mailman School of Public Health, told The Nation's Health. “When students don't feel that sense of community and belonging...it affects both their academic success and their general well-being.”
Graduate students of color often report higher rates of isolation in school, impacting their mental health and overall relationships with advisors and peers. MOSAIC works to tackle common challenges graduate students face in a community setting.
Each fall, the program hosts a meet-and-greet luncheon for faculty, administrators and students, helping to break barriers commonly experienced in academia. In spring, MOSAIC organizes a day of service that draws hundreds of participants.
Other events held by MOSAIC vary each semester based on needs expressed by students. Some have focused on interviewing, writing resumes, crafting an effective pitch and navigating the applied practice experience.
Faculty affiliates across departments contribute by holding monthly office hours, offering guidance on topics ranging from job searches to academic questions.
Anisa Mian, MPH, a member of MOSAIC's first cohort, said the program addressed challenges that higher education often overlooks, including finding an advisor and creating an academic poster to accompany a thesis. It also helped her connect with her peers.
“I'm a student of color, so it was really nice to have a community of students that I knew could share specific types of experiences with,” she told The Nation's Health. “It kind of created that safe space where you didn't have to explain yourself.”
Graduate students who have participated in MOSAIC say the program improved their overall experience, including department satisfaction, a sense of belonging and feeling of connectedness to each other and faculty.
“This type of mentorship will strengthen the public health workforce...and really will just make our school stronger,” Grilo said.
Building on MOSAIC's success, Samari and Grilo are working to help expand the program to other schools of public health. In October, they co-authored an article in Frontiers in Public Health detailing how to implement the program and ensure its long-term sustainability.
Samari, who now serves as associate professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, started a MOSAIC program there in fall 2024.
“In this time where it's really hard to find community, MOSAIC is really a nice space where you can help students feel more connected to their faculty,” Samari said. “As a faculty member who's been at multiple schools and programs of public health, MOSAIC is the place that's felt the most inspiring for me.”
For more information, visit bit.ly/columbiamosaic.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
