Like most terminology the word mentor
has Greek origins. To read a story about where the term mentor was
devised check here.
Turner states that a mentor is “an
experienced person who advises, guides, teaches, inspires, challenges and
corrects, and serves as a role model” (Turner, 2004, p.5). Mentors have
a critical educational value in graduate education. Many of us are
surrounded by people who have knowledge and expertise and are more than willing
to share what they know to help others learn and grow. It is important to
capitalize on these opportunities whenever possible.
To me there are three types of
mentors.
- Those who have the position you would like to have and can give you insights on how to get there.
- Those that do not have the position you would like but have many skills and resources to develop skills necessary to reach your professional goals.
- Those that are in a similar position (other graduate students) to you that have great perspective on how to be successful and navigate graduate school. Their insights will probably be more raw and practical and help you survive and capitalize on opportunities within the program. Asking real questions to these folks helps navigate the intricacies of a graduate program.
All three types of mentors offer tremendous
wisdom and insight that is necessary to progress through the program and
eventually professionally. Finding folks that are easy to connect with to
foster these outstanding learning and networking opportunities is a key to
graduate student success. This process loosely involves the following
steps
- Identify individuals who have similar passions and interests (see above categories)
- Initiate contact and relationship
- Foster relationship
- Secure a project or committee that connects you to them for a longer duration of time to build a relational depth (If geographic proximity is a challenge keeping a mentor in the loop about what is happening in your professional world helps keeps ties fresh)
Motivators are people that help remind
us of why we are committed to our work. They can be students, children,
family, colleagues or someplace random like this. Reminding in
touch with motivators can help in times of struggle or lack of professional
clarity. We have all had days that were harder than others. Those
are the days that I find myself needing to remember motivators and their value
to me. As I write this I am thinking about needing a refresher.
Techniques I have tried that may or
may not be worth considering.
- Being proactive to reach out to people that I feel a connection with so far.
- Say thank you to those who are helpful to you. I know that I would not be where I am without some tremendous people. I do not thank them enough. So this message serves as a reminder that I should send thanks to them again.
- Remembering in times of struggle that there are motivators out there that can keep you in touch with the purpose of the journey.
Quote that best represents the week.
- One of my favorite books of all time. Tuesdays with Morrie is filled with great quotes, but here are two favorites
- "The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in" (Albom, 1997, p. 52).
- "In the beginning of life, when we were infants, we need others to survive, right? And at the end of life, when you get like me, you need others to survive, right? But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well" (p. 157).
Remember that what lies ahead might be
a challenge but it is worth every minute.
Resources:
Albom, M. (1997). Tuesdays with Morrie. New York, NY: Doubleday.
Neteinstein (2007, February 11). Team Hoyt - Dick and Rick Hoyt.
Retrieve September 30, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flRvsO8m_KI.
Turner, M. (2004). Mentoring: an overview. Retrieved from
