What is a Mentor?
Most of us can think of people in our lives, more experienced than ourselves, who taught us something new, offered advice, presented a challenge, initiated friendship, or simply expressed an interest in our development as a person. They helped us negotiate an uphill path or find an entirely new path to a goal in our academic, career, or personal lives. They showed us a world larger than our neighborhood. They pointed out talents that we hadn't noticed in ourselves and stimulated ideas about what we might be able to accomplish. They nudged us when we needed a nudge.
Adult mentors are an important part of the Youthlink-Plus Mentoring team. Mentors are college students, faculty, and professionals in a wide variety of career fields. Mentees are participants in the Youthlink-Plus Mentoring Program. Most mentoring takes place with face to face interaction and can also be conducted via internet. Electronic communication eliminates the challenges imposed by time and distance, and offers an alternative to traditional mentoring. Frequent electronic communications and personal contacts bring participants together with mentors to facilitate academic, career, and personal achievements.
As a mentor you offer the following:
- Information
Mentors share their knowledge, experiences, and wisdom.
- Contacts
Mentors provide valuable opportunities by facilitating academic, career, and personal contacts.
- Challenges
Mentors stimulate curiosity and build confidence by presenting new ideas, opportunities, and challenges.
- Support
Mentors encourage growth and achievement by providing an open and supportive environment.
- Goal Setting
Mentors help protégés discover talents and interests and define and attain their goals.
- Advice
Mentors guide mentees in reaching academic, career, and personal goals.
- Role Models
By sharing stories of achievement with mentees, mentors can become role models.
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