Diana Bairaktarova is a doctoral candidate in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Technical University at Sofia, Bulgaria and an M.B.A. from Hamline School of Business at St. Paul, Minnesota. Bairaktarova has over a decade of experience working as a design engineer. Her research is focused on human learning and engineering (i.e. understanding how individual differences and aptitudes affect interaction with

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... nical objects in engineering education instruction), and how engineering students' personality traits influence ethical decision making process in engineering design. This study was conducted to learn about students' perceptions on mentoring and leadership and to explore if there is a relationship between mentors' personality traits in regards to leadership and their beliefs of their own qualities as mentors and leaders. The hope is that understanding these relationships may improve course instruction and mentors experience. 49 students (peer mentors) taking the course Instruction, Mentorship, and Leadership completed a series of questionnaires. Along with the mentor's self-evaluation, mentors were also asked to submit mid-term evaluations addressing their strengths and weaknesses as peer mentors and what they might do to improve on their weaknesses. Results indicate that there is a discrepancy between peer mentors' selfassessments on mentoring, leadership skills and instruction performance and their peers' evaluation of mentors strengths and weaknesses. Our exploratory study also supported the linkages between the five dimensions of personality traits and leadership qualities. To help improve the course and mentors experience recommendations for further research are provided.