I want to share my experience managing a program whose mission is to increase minority representation by giving the students the skills they need to be successful leaders in our field of science. Being an effective mentor is not easy, it takes a lot of time, effort, and skills to make sure that your mentee feels like an active member of the ecology community. I will share the steps I use to turn students from strangers to members of a professional family. Diverse people for a diverse science – this is the future of ecology.