National teacher shortages have driven the market for alternative means of teacher certification. This study sought to understand what mentorship means to 27 beginning teachers in a university-district partnership Alternative Certification Program (ACP) in an effort to understand the participants' perceptions. The process included administering and coding self report questionnaires, random selection and focus group interviews, data triangulation, and intense interaction over a 10 month period. Principles of phenomenology guided researchers to realize four interrelated essential core themes exploring the meaning of mentorship (a) school politics, (b) proximity (c) relationship, and (d) classroom management.