Posted: April 10, 2025
Every academic year, the University of Florida Graduate School’s Graduate Student Mentoring Awards (GSMA) spotlight UF graduate students who go the extra mile by mentoring fellow graduate students, undergraduate students, and students or teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade.
A committee of UF faculty and staff with mentoring experience chooses nominees for this honor on the basis of academic performance, professional experience, mentoring philosophy and effectiveness, and their impact on their mentees’ academic and professional growth.
Congratulations to our six GSMA winners for 2024-2025:
Kyle Adams
Doctor of Philosophy student
Mathematics
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Kyle Adams credits his success as a mentor to his past experience as a high school math teacher, mutually enriching exchanges of insights and interests with mentees, and a concerted effort to cultivate hospitable space in which others feel comfortable and confident in exploring and articulating their own questions.
Taylor Morris
Doctor of Philosophy student
English
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Taylor Morris’ breadth of academic background in both sciences and humanities enables him to connect with mentees across a broad spectrum of interests and experiences. For him, successful mentoring starts with the energy he invests in others. As he notes of his mentees: “They make the effort because I do.”
Nikolaos Pipis
Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Biomedical Engineering
Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Nikolaos Pipis approaches mentoring as a matter of “paying it forward” — passing on to others the same coaching and care he got through his own ascent in academia. His focus on tailored mentorship for individual growth seeks to bring out the unique best in each of each of his mentees, since no two are alike.
Allison Reade
Doctor of Musical Arts student
Music
College of the Arts
For Allison Reade, mentorship is about listening openly, speaking from firsthand experience, being generous with time and feedback, and sharing professional opportunities — all in the interest of sparking a positive ripple effect that reverberates through individual mentees, communities, and cultures.
Adam Searles
Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Interdisciplinary Ecology
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
As a mentor, Adam Searles shares his solid track record of research, professional experience, and educational connections across academic, state, and federal institutions with his mentees. He sees them as active stakeholders in the classroom, lab, and field — and as the next generation of mentors.
Vignesh Subramaniam
Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Mechanical Engineering
Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Vignesh Subramaniam’s sense of mentoring was shaped by its early absence in his Ph.D. program and its transformative power when it later emerged in that journey. That experience now drives him to mentor as someone charged with building trust, fostering independence, and inspiring growth.
Thank you to all of our GSMA winners for making a difference in others’ lives through mentoring!
To learn more about the Graduate Student Mentoring Awards, click here — GSMA — or email our Graduate Student Success Center at grad-success@ufl.edu.
Graduate School