The Role of the Mentor
"A mentor is an individual who has made a personal commitment to advance a chosen field by facilitating other individuals' careers through guidance, wisdom and expertise."
Mentoring includes responsibilities beyond advising. Mentors focus more personally on a mentee's achievements, success in school, and preparation for the workforce through a non-threatening and non-judgmental one-on-one relationship. This relationship changes over time as each grows, learns and shares experiences in the mentoring relationship. It has a career and psycho-social focus for both mentor and mentee.
Expectations
As a whole, a mentor should be:- Committed to the mentoring relationship
- Respectful of individuals and their lifestyles
- A good listener
- Non-judgmental
- Sensitive to another person's struggle
- Stable and flexible
- Honest, patient, and trustworthy
For a mentor to be effective, he or she should:
- Speak to the mentee at his or her level of understanding rather than to speak down to or beyond the mentee
- Maintain continued knowledge of the mentee's progress
- Be willing not only to teach the mentee but to learn from the mentee
- Encourage the mentee to experiment with new methods
- Discuss current research literature with the mentee
- Introduce the mentee to important individuals doing research in the mentee's discipline
- Keep abreast of the research in the mentee's particular field
- Supply incentives and rewards
- Be liberal with praise
- Supply adequate support
Benefits of Being a Mentor
- Satisfaction of helping a student reach her academic and professional goals
- Recognition at work for participation in a job-related activity
- An expanded network of professional colleagues
- Recognition for service to the community
- Increased self-esteem, self-confidence and affirmation of professional competence
How to Apply to become a Mentor
If you are interested in becoming a mentor for a STEM graduate student, please fill out the Mentor Application and email, mail, or fax it back to CWD. On the application, you may indicate which of the programs you would like to mentor for.