This qualitative phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of African American males who participated in mentoring and how doing so aided their persistence and academic success in higher education. The research questions explored the participants' lived experiences and how they contributed to their college experience. The sample included ten African American male undergraduates who believed mentorship was crucial to their academic performance. Each participant was interviewed in an effort to learn more about their lived experiences. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The participants in this study were African American males between the ages of 19 and 45. The researcher used Creswell & Poth's (2018) purposive sampling to identify a rich selection of participants who had received mentoring. The interview data was analyzed using the four-step process proposed by Moustakas (1994). Epoche, phenomenological reduction, creative variation, and the synthesis of meanings and essences are the four steps of analysis, according to Moustakas (1994). Virtual interviews were performed, and transcripts were evaluated to identify themes. Each participant's experience emerged themes that the researcher had not considered but became vital to the comprehensive research study. This study suggests that mentoring played a significant role in helping the participants navigate college, excel academically, learn male-specific life skills, and increase public speaking, self-confidence, networking, and persistence toward graduation. Future recommendations for practice include encouraging historically black colleges and universities to implement initiatives that provide all African American male students, both part-time and full-time, with ongoing mentoring and support for academic success, retention, and persistence toward graduation. Based on the findings of this research, mentoring has been and will continue to be the support that African American males need to engage in their college experience and graduate. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]