Despite the increasing diversity of the US population, particularly of Latinx residents, the lack of resources and the underrepresentation of graduate students of color (GSC) are lingering issues in higher education. This dissertation discusses the impact of mentoring at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) for GSC. With Critical Race Theory (CRT) as my lens, I expand on mentoring, mentorship services, counter-storytelling, critical social factors and a historical context of higher education in order to both illustrate the problem and offer specific solutions to the systemic barriers that GSC face every day on college campuses. By leveraging the narrative side of CRT, this study provided the opportunity for additional GSC by creating a qualitative/quantitative survey designed to capture perceptions and experiences at other PWIs. These stories identify a trend or need for appropriate services in a system where GSC are attempting to navigate. The results offer specific counterstories by and experiential knowledge of GSC on mentoring at PWIs. There were two types: open-ended and Likert-scale. The survey results gave clarity on the specific topics it was designed to address. Respondents' overall attitudes and perceptions of mentoring show that mentees expect mentors to exhibit high levels of accessibility, approachability, trust, interest in a mentee's personal and academic welfare, especially as a person of color. Also, GSC expected at least some level of engagement with the mentee as a junior colleague, not merely as a student. Finally, GSC expected mentors to help navigate departmental academic support structures and policies as well as professional opportunities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]