mentoring reflection essays

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A mentor and mentee’s reflection on mentoring

By caroline beaulieu posted 10-28-2014 14:07.

Since I started pharmacy school, I have a better appreciation for the importance of mentorship. I am very thankful for the individuals who have shared some of their time to help guide me through this new journey. The profession of pharmacy presents a wide range of opportunities so I always appreciate having others’ advices on how to best achieve my goals.

Some things can only be learned through experience. For that reason, having mentors can be extremely valuable, especially at the beginning of a career. During my internship at ASHP this past summer, I had the opportunity to meet Jaclyn Boyle. Jaclyn’s passion for our profession is truly inspiring. She has already accomplished a lot to help advance patient care and continues to go above and beyond to expand the role of pharmacists. Ever since I met Jaclyn, I knew I had a lot to learn from her. I highly value our mentoring relationship because not only do we share the same passion for our profession but we share a desire to always surpass our limits and help each other maximize our potential.

Mentorship can be life changing. Without mentors, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I find it very helpful to have people to look up to; individuals who you not only share goals with but who can also help guide some of your decisions. I chose to pursue a profession that is constantly evolving and I want to ensure that I can keep up and continue to learn throughout my entire career. I want to contribute to our profession to the best of my ability and having a mentor like Jaclyn can definitely help me meet this goal.  

Here is Jaclyn’s perspective on mentorship:

As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?” Mentoring is a way to contribute to others by dedicating yourself to your mentee’s well-being. To me, mentoring is about building a synergistic relationship based on common interests and goals. When I met my mentee during our shared experience at ASHP, we instantly developed a relationship based on shared passion for the profession of pharmacy and desire to learn more about ourselves.  The nice thing about having an ambitious mentee is that they consciously or unconsciously push you to do more. For example, knowing that my mentee is depending on me for guidance and/or professional development, I am constantly thinking of ways that I can contribute to her success by seeking out new opportunities for her and for us.

No two mentor-mentee experiences are the same.  I like to think of our relationship as a journey to a better place; somewhere neither of us would have gone to alone.  As a mentee myself, I have observed key things that my mentors have done for me in order to be able to pass those qualities to my mentees. By investing in my mentees, I hope to contribute to the profession through others; something I could not accomplish with merely my own contributions. 

Besides all of the benefits that the mentor and mentee gain from this experience, I feel that the continuity and advancement of the profession is derived from such relationships. The discovery of oneself through another helps us on the journey to having a successful career. In the midst of challenges, one can rely on a mentor for words of reassurance or advice that you may not want to hear. It is during those times when the mentoring relationship is tested and can become stronger. Mentoring provides benefits that extend far beyond the formal, outward expression of calling someone your “mentor” or “mentee”; personally, it is nice to know that I was able to help someone, even if it is in a small way. 

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What Efficient Mentorship Looks Like

• Adaira Landry
• Resa E. Lewiss

It doesn’t have to feel draining.

When we’re feeling drained, mentoring is one of the tasks that tends to fall by the wayside. But mentors don’t have to burn themselves out to be helpful and effective. This approach, called “fuel-efficient mentoring” by the authors, suggests how to be a mentor in an efficient manner that benefits mentees, growing their confidence and their network, but also conserves your energy. First, define boundaries and expectations, recognizing your own preferences; second, set a time budget that mentees can draw on; third, reconsider how you structure meetings with mentees and try group conversations; fourth, try virtual meetings; and finally, look for ways to turn other commitments, such as professional events, into mentoring opportunities.

The endless string of demanding tasks at work can leave us running on empty — deadlines, meetings, projects, and ongoing training modules all demanding our effort and limiting our time to refuel. As an energy-saving measure, we may cut corners.

• Adaira Landry , MD MEd, is an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s hospital. She serves as a Cannon Society Advisor for Harvard Medical School and an Assistant Residency Director for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency program. AdairaLandryMD
• Resa E. Lewiss , MD, is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Radiology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Women’s Leadership Council of Brown University. She is the creator and host of the Visible Voices podcast, which amplifies voices and perspectives on health care, equity, and current trends. Find her on Twitter @ResaELewiss .

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Reflections on Mentoring: A Closer Look at One Successful Pairing

By Braegan C. Abernethy and Kari D. Weaver

Mentoring offers numerous professional benefits, but also assists in personal growth. Reflecting on the experience as a mentor or mentee is essential to understanding the impact of mentoring on the individual. In the previous articles in this mentoring series, the authors discussed best practices for mentoring relationships and success as a mentee. In this article, the authors present a reflection on their own mentoring experience together. Hopefully this personal touch will inspire other librarians to engage in mentoring activities and illuminate the positive, rewarding aspects of mentoring for librarianship.

Why did you want to participate in a mentoring program?

Braegan: I sought out a mentoring program after beginning my first job as a professional librarian. I knew that I would be taking on new responsibilities and challenges and wanted to find someone who would be interested in walking with me through this new journey. Additionally I had stayed relatively unconnected to the surrounding library world- having previously worked in a paraprofessional capacity for eighteen months after receiving my Master’s degree. My new job responsibilities included library instruction and program planning- areas of which I had some knowledge but not on a professional level. I knew mentoring with an experienced librarian who had a passion for some of these areas would be a valuable learning tool and help me to succeed and thrive in my new position. I was involved in informal mentoring relationships in the past. While those had been very helpful for me at the time, I decided to participate in a formal mentoring program to be better matched with someone who related to me on a professional level, rather than a personal or coincidental nature as sometimes occurs through informal mentoring.

Kari: Early in my career I was fortunate enough to work with two different mentors as a mentee, one mentor through a formal mentoring program and one in a relationship that I cultivated through a professional connection. These relationships were extremely important as I entered the workplace, especially considering all the “things” we need to know as librarians that we learn on the job, not in a library school classroom. While I had excellent experiences with both the formal and informal mentoring partnerships, I found the structure of the formal program fit my personality and workstyle best and decided to volunteer as a mentor when the opportunity became available and was advertised through one of my listservs.

Was there one thing that you were able to successfully implement in your work environment?

Kari: In my current position, I mentor the new teaching librarians at my own institution in pedagogy, curriculum development and classroom management. Hearing my mentee’s concerns has allowed me to be more sensitive to the new librarians teaching in my own instruction program. This also forced me to clarify my thinking on instruction, tenure-track status for librarians and dealing with interpersonal conflict in ways that would allow me to communicate effectively with my mentee. Additionally, I tend to be a bit scattered in my work as I try to handle the varied tasks expected of an instruction coordinator, from scheduling to assessment and back and working with a mentee in a structured way has encouraged me to set stronger agendas for my own instruction meetings. This may seem small, but I am sure is something my colleagues appreciate!

Braegan: I have learned many valuable skills since beginning formal mentoring, including tips and resources for conducting library instruction, exploring professional development opportunities and preparing for job searching and interviews. The most constructive advice I have received and successfully implemented, however, has been dealing with workplace conflict. As someone new to the profession and new to work in a full-time academic setting, I was struggling with how to communicate effectively with colleagues. My mentor introduced me to various issues of workplace conflict including identifying sources of conflict, addressing issues and resolving problems professionally. These skills allowed me to thrive as I recently transitioned to a new institution and position.

What was the most important thing that you learned about yourself through the mentoring process?

Braegan: Beginning new projects has always caused me anxiety and stress. I focus too much on the course of action before starting something new. I struggled with this throughout my graduate degree and into my professional career. Through the mentoring process I’ve been able to address this trepidation and actually accomplish things without the inevitable stress triggers I often experienced. Mentoring has helped to create a confidence that allows me to feel comfortable proposing new projects as well as tackling them without hesitation or fear of failure. I’ve learned that your mentor can be one of your greatest cheerleaders, inspiring courage and determination that you might not have known you were lacking.

Kari: It is acceptable not to have all the answers. I have arrived at the point in my career where in my own workplace, I am expected to be the authority on information literacy, the authority on scheduling, the authority on teaching in the library. Sometimes my mentee would have questions about things on which I am not an authority or with which I have no experience. Part of the role is to listen, but also to step back and use the librarian skills to investigate and work together toward a strategy of action. Simply accepting that it is reasonable to not always know, but to collaborate on a solution is both a great self-lesson for librarianship and for life.

Why is mentoring important to the library profession?

Kari: One key overriding characteristic of the library profession is how much we learn through experience while on the job. Mentoring helps new librarians grow into the profession, to learn the expectations and realities of the work and to understand common and uncommon practices in their individual workplaces. It also offers an opportunity for veteran librarians to reconnect to that uncertainty of being new and learning on the job in an instructive and beneficial way. Librarians must work together to reach our missions and goals, independent of the type of library. Mentoring is important in helping to develop or further communication, relationship building and teamwork skills needed for success and advancement in the field.

Braegan: Mentoring can be important in different ways based on an individual’s experience. A successful mentoring relationship can help guide a developing librarian in gaining the confidence to pursue a professional goal, resolve a workplace conflict or acquire a valuable new skill. As a mentee, I believe mentoring is most important for relationship building and personal growth. Effective communication in the workplace is vital to professionalism and mentoring can be a powerful tool that teaches you how to build positive rapport with a colleague. The ability to respond to a situation considerately is not always an inherent attribute and learning to be respectful of others’ time, opinions and experience is an important ability that can be mastered through mentoring.

Braegan C. Abernethy is the Archives and Records Management Librarian at the University of West Alabama. Her research interests include mentoring, digital preservation and information literacy for underserved populations.

Kari D. Weaver is an Assistant Professor of Library Science and the Library Instruction Coordinator at the University of South Carolina Aiken. Her research interests include mentoring, book banning and censorship in the United States and information literacy.

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Reflections: What Constitutes a Good Mentoring Relationship?

There are many aspects to this effective means of education.

Edutopia asked several friends and colleagues to share their thoughts with us about the qualities that make a good mentor and mentoring relationship. What we heard underscored how powerful and moving this ostensibly simple interaction can be for both parties.

Perhaps the most common response was that mentoring is a two-way street, an interaction that works for both mentor and mentee. "Both parties benefit from the exchange," says Bonnie Bracey, a member of the National Advisory Board for The George Lucas Educational Foundation. "I think mentoring is a two-way street," agrees David Thornburg, Ph.D. "Everyone I have worked with in this capacity has taught me at least as much as I learned." Thornburg is the director of the Thornburg Center for Professional Development. "It's not a one-sided relationship," adds Nathan Gebhard, co-creator, roadtrip.monster.com.

From Parenthood to Parity

Reaching for an analogy, many responses mentioned parenthood, along with such affective qualities as trust, affection, patience, and warmth.

"Kids don't care how much you know, they know how much you care," is how Bill McGrath, Ph.D., puts it. McGrath is an associate professor in the School of Education and Human Services at National University. "The best mentorship derives from, and is sustained by, a deep, affectionate regard and a desire to understand as well as to guide," concurs George Brackett, lecturer and director of the Technology in Education Program at Harvard's Graduate School of Education.

Some of our correspondents also see the mentoring relationship as being unique in a way that evokes the link between parent and child. As Harvard's Brackett puts it, mentoring is "highly specific to the identity and character of the person being mentored." Just as no two children require an identical parenting style, explains Cheryl Crumpler, Ph.D., a human development specialist with Healthy Potentials in Davis, California, "no two students are ever identical and learn in the same way."

Crumpler also points to the empathy and selflessness that she locates at the heart of good mentoring. It is the essence of the mentor's job, she feels, to bring empathy to bear, to understand who the mentee is and then "tailor your style to reach him or her." It is this willingness to identify with one another, she believes, that produces the mutual respect that is fundamental to making a good mentoring relationship work.

Mutual respect is indeed central, agrees Gens Johnson, Ph.D., and is the antidote to bad mentoring. "It's important that neither the mentee nor the mentor feel that they are being used or manipulated," Johnson explains. "I've seen internships that were defined as mentored that were actually used as cheap labor by the mentor and simply a quick route to a job recommendation by the mentee."

Along with mutual respect and "a shared enthusiasm for the area of expertise being shared and developed," Johnson continues, mentors also need to be "accessible, knowledgeable, connected, encouraging, and willing to offer constructive, although perhaps gentle, criticism and guidance." Johnson is director of DTV Planning & Learning Services for Idaho Public Television.

Another key to good mentoring is walking the talk, or congruence of speech and action. Good mentors, says Rocky Rohwedder, say what they mean and mean what they say. They have integrity. "From most of my mentors," says Rohwedder, "I learned far more from what they did than from what they said." Rohwedder is a professor in the Department of Environmental Studies and Planning at Sonoma State University.

When mentoring works best, empathy, mutual respect, and personal integrity make the relationship equal, not parental. Jere Confrey, professor of mathematics education at the University of Texas at Austin, thinks a good mentor is one who can "guide the mentee towards parity with him/her through the educational process."

Achieving this symmetry can be tricky, especially when the basic work of mentoring conspires to maintain the mentor in the role of authority. "Good mentoring includes connecting properly and effectively with the field -- helping mentees to meet established scholars, advising them to go to important meetings and choose good journals, and clarifying how to locate their work effectively in the field, helping them to get grants, doing co-authoring," says Confrey.

According to many responses, the most memorable mentors tend to have a lively side, too, a clear sense of joie de vivre. "Approachable and open, easy to talk to and often fun," says Marian Shaffner, technology coordinator at St. Brendan School in San Francisco.

Working together, all of these factors contribute to a powerful type of interpersonal learning, a kind of rapport or bond that works in subtle but highly effective ways. This is the point at which, as Shaffner puts it, one can "see the questions behind the questions," the point at which, as David Thornburg notes, coaching rather than directing is needed. "Instead of making a direct comment on the mentee's work," he suggests, "ask him/her to evaluate the situation him/herself, comment on its success/failure, and speculate on what might be done differently next time."

Finally, some respondents make it clear that good mentoring happens online as well as in person. "Good mentoring relationships are based on trust -- the trust that mentors and mentees will be kind, supportive, forgiving, and responsive," says Frank Odasz of Lone Eagle Consulting. "And effusive warmth and loyalty can easily be shared online, regardless of having never met in person."

Recalls Bonnie Bracey of one of her own mentors, "Online or face-to-face, it's a joy when we work together." More than a decade ago, says Odasz, "half-a-dozen remote, rural schools in Montana found seventh- and eighth-grade students being mentored on chaos theory mathematics by George Johnston from the Plasma Fusion Lab of MIT ... text-only, at 1,200 baud, with eighteen-dollars-an-hour long-distance phone tolls, via Apple IIes, and it worked wonderfully!"

A Mentoring Story

Rocky Rohwedder contributed The Rainbow, a mentoring story.

"Billy, a special education student, used to stare into the aquarium in the classroom every afternoon. He could stand there for hours, even though we only had two fish and a little ceramic castle. On several afternoons the strangest thing would happen: He would break into a state of euphoria, jump up and down and scream, 'The rainbow, the rainbow!' He was so excited and enthusiastic he was disturbing the rest of the class. When we looked into the aquarium, we didn't see any rainbow, so we had to pull Billy away, calm him down, and placate his 'inappropriate' euphoric behavior.

"Then one afternoon the other teacher had all the kids outside playing and I was down on the floor picking up some math blocks. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a blaze of color. When I turned to see what it was, looking UP in the aquarium I saw the most brilliant rainbow I have ever seen. At the right angle, from the right perspective (which was of course how Billy had seen it) the glass, water, and sunshine produced an absolutely incredible rainbow!

Without hesitation, I instinctively leaped to my feet, jumped up and down, and screamed 'The rainbow, the rainbow!' Finally, I had seen what Billy was trying to show us all these months. Finally, by seeing the world from HIS perspective, I got it.

"So, the moral of the story for me is that a good mentor should always seek to see the world from the view of their mentee. From their perspective you may find yourself instantly transformed from 'teacher' to 'student,' and you may grasp a glimpse of some of the most amazing things you will ever see or know."

Mentoring at its best, then, embodies the heart of great teaching: it is a dance of learner and teacher, of two minds and hearts engaged in mutual inquiry, dialogue, exploration. It is a process that holds the power to inform, reveal, delight, and sometimes even transform. As these brief excerpts show, mentoring is one of the keys to an education that is vital and effective, an education that creates the kinds of experiences that touch and change learner and teacher in deep and important ways.

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From the eyes of the mentor, from the eyes of the mentee.

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Reflections on the Mentor-Mentee Relationship

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Kalpana Manthiram, Kathryn M Edwards, Reflections on the Mentor-Mentee Relationship, Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society , Volume 10, Issue 11, November 2021, Pages 1040–1043, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpids/piab025

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A successful mentoring relationship can bring significant benefits to the mentee in terms of academic research productivity and career satisfaction. Through their mentees, mentors can also traverse new and fulfilling research directions. Here, we reflect on our own mentor-mentee relationship from both of our vantage points. We offer advice on how to choose a mentee/mentor, what each person needs to bring to the relationship, and how the relationship changes with time.

Numerous studies have shown the benefits of academic mentorship for the mentee in terms of promotion, publication output, success in receiving grants, and retention in academia [ 1 ]. However, benefits of mentorship extend beyond these metrics and improve the well-being and career satisfaction of the mentee as well [ 1–3 ]. In our experience, the mentor-mentee relationship has been an enriching source of motivation, knowledge, and self-reflection along the challenging but fulfilling journey of a career in science and medicine. We take this opportunity to reflect on our own relationship and offer suggestions for developing a successful relationship ( Table 1 ).

Responsibilities of the Mentor and Mentee

In my 4 decades of academic medicine, I have had many mentees and each of them has brought different skills and pursued unique paths. Each one of them has been very special to me. One of my earliest mentees, Gary Marshall, used to call me his “academic mother,” and I think that captures much of the relationship that I treasure with my mentees. But let’s get down to the basics of mentor-mentee relationships and how to make them work.

How Do I Decide to Take on a Mentee?

First, I need to know that they are committed to gaining new knowledge and that this pursuit is their driving force. They ask questions of “why?” Why is there disease in this patient with this pathogen at this time? Second, they expend the effort needed to be an academic investigator. They comprehensively know the literature, they meet deadlines, they meticulously design their studies, and they interpret their successes and their failures. Third, they are driven to make a difference through their research and patient care. In total, they need to show me that they are curious, hard-working, and committed.

What Do I Need to Bring to the Relationship?

Like an “academic mother,” I am committed to providing financial, intellectual, and emotional support. I take this responsibility very seriously. I am dedicated to guiding their research efforts, stimulating them to ask important questions, helping them navigate the complexities of academia, and supporting them when the challenges appear. The best way to accomplish these goals is to have open and frequent communication. For me, that means meeting with the mentee each week for 1 hour. These meetings are rarely canceled and are some of my most important events each week. At the beginning of the mentorship relationship, I insist on an agenda that the mentee sends the day before the meeting. If new literature will change the study design, then, these articles need to be shared with me before we meet. I need to have read it and thought about its impact on the mentee’s work. If there is a draft manuscript to discuss, this also needs to be sent so that I can review it and be prepared to discuss. The weekly meetings allow me to review the mentee’s progress and address challenges, to provide links to the networks that they will need to form to be academically successful, and to review their reports, data, manuscripts, and grants. Waiting days for input on a manuscript can be disheartening; I try and turn comments around in 1 to 2 days.

How Does the Relationship Change?

How does a mentee acquire independence and the ability to pursue research that is unique from your own? Like an “academic mother,” the mentor’s ultimate goal is to nurture the mentee into an independent investigator who goes on to mentor their own mentees. So, it is critical to make sure that you are directing the mentee in an area of research that is something they can pursue and not be in direct competition with you as their mentor. For clinical research studies, that may mean you guide them to evaluate populations unique from those that you are studying, such as infants or immunocompromised individuals, who pose new challenges for investigation. For other mentees, this may be facilitating links with other investigators who bring innovative laboratory methods to the questions that the mentee is pursuing. Finally, it may be introducing the mentee to a special research question that you have identified but have been unable to study in the ways that are needed. It was this latter situation with K. M. where she took on the syndrome that Dr Marshall and I described 3 decades earlier, Periodic Fever, Adenitis, Pharyngitis, and Aphthous Stomatitis (PFAPA).

As the mentee completes one phase of their training, such as a fellowship, they need to decide where they will pursue their next position, often seeking a faculty position at an academic institution. This will involve assessing whether the mentee has the necessary skills to become an independent investigator or whether additional postdoctoral training will be needed. This will also involve deciding what the mentee can keep for their project and pursue independently from your work. If the mentee leaves the mentor’s academic institution, this transition to independence will be easier. But if they remain, the interactions between the mentee and the mentor can be stressful. It is not very different than the evolution of the relationship between a parent and adolescent who is leaving home in pursuit of their independence. Both the mentor and the mentee need to be willing to give in on some of their expectations and the mentor will need to relinquish control of aspects of the mentee’s projects. If there has been a long-standing collaborative relationship, then, this difficult time can be successfully navigated. For some mentor-mentee relationships, this will be the time when they fracture. Whether the relationship can ultimately be rekindled with different expectations depends on the personalities of the individuals and their ultimate goals.

In addition, this is a time when the mentor’s network of academic colleagues is critical. Calling on division leaders in my field to tell them about the skills of a mentee and to support an application to their program goes a long way to demonstrating your commitment and the qualities of the mentee. Drawing on my previous interactions with colleagues at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was critical in linking K. M. to her current position. However, it goes without saying that you need to make sure that the mentees are prepared and committed to such positions.

As I look back on my career, I am extremely fulfilled in my research pursuits and the problems solved and insights gained. However, now at this point in my career, I find the greatest pride in the accomplishments of my mentees. As they lead divisions, departments, research and vaccine centers, and multicenter national and international initiatives, their impact extends much further than my individual accomplishments. Like an academic mother, I am very proud of my academic children and what they have accomplished.

How Do I Choose a Mentor?

Finding the right mentor is an essential first step. A potential mentor’s prior track record may provide insights into their commitment and style as a mentor. Who are their previous mentees? Did these mentees reach their goals in terms of navigating and completing research studies, publishing the results, and obtaining grants? What types of careers have they pursued? It is very informative (I would say critical) to speak to prior mentees and get a detailed sense of what kind of feedback a mentor provides on experiments and manuscripts, the mentor’s day-to-day involvement in a mentee’s work, their level of support in a job search, their generosity in promoting and in providing resources to mentees, and how they handle differences of opinion. When successful, the mentor-mentee relationship can propel one’s career; however, difficult relationships can stifle one’s career advancement and be demoralizing. Take serious note of red flags and consider whether they may crack a relationship for you.

As a mentee, it is important to consider your level of experience in the projects upon which you are embarking and what support you will need. If you are launching into a new area where you need to acquire new skills, directly ask whether your mentor can provide you the training needed to acquire those skills through themselves, members of their own lab/research group, connections with collaborators who are committed to provide that training, or classes or workshops. Throughout our relationship, K. M. E. connected me with collaborators as I began venturing into new research areas, generously provided the necessary financial support for my work or pointed me to grant opportunities, and allowed me to work with and learn from her experienced research nurses and regulatory specialists. This was critical for my training.

In addition to these factors, consider your “chemistry” with a potential mentor. As scientists, physicians, and humans, we each have different personalities, motivating factors, and ways of giving and receiving feedback. As you meet with a potential mentor, notice how you feel afterward. Do you have a sense of enthusiasm about your research project? Do you feel a sense of optimism for your ability to implement and succeed in your work? For every researcher, there are times when research becomes a struggle and feels arduous; we may feel that we are at a dead end or the mountain is too big to climb. At those times, I have been fortunate to have mentors who normalized these difficulties as a part of the process and gave me the fuel I needed to continue in this career path.

As you get to know each other’s styles, we have found that having structure to the relationship can help it get off on the right foot. From the beginning, K. M. E. and I had scheduled weekly meetings. For K. M. E., these times were sacred, and she prioritized them in her schedule, which also made me appreciate their importance. As a mentee, being well prepared for these meetings was key and made the meetings more productive and enjoyable for both of us. Write out an agenda for the meeting which includes questions for how to proceed in a project, specific requests for help or resources, new data that you would like to discuss, or any manuscripts or abstracts you want your mentor to review. If you have particular needs, ask your mentor directly. For some mentors, it may be helpful to share the agenda beforehand. During some meetings, my agenda was very short, but even checking in for 10 minutes gave me a boost for the week.

I found that preparing an agenda also gave me the opportunity to reflect on the status of the project and steer the ship for my project, which I could then discuss with my mentor to get their input. These discussions were an important part of my development as an independent scientist—it was an opportunity to explore my own thought process in a secure and tolerant relationship. Strong preparation will also show your mentor your commitment and enthusiasm toward the project and show them that you are thinking independently so they begin to trust your judgment and expertise.

As with any relationship, a successful mentor-mentee relationship evolves with the trainee’s development. A mentor who embraces their own evolution as their mentee gains independence and who generously helps the mentee flourish in their newly created niche advances the mentee. I was fortunate to have mentors who generously extended opportunities to give presentations or write invited reviews that they received to me so that I could begin to be seen as an expert in my own area.

An openness to feedback and open communication on both sides can also help the relationship change with time. As the mentee, maintaining an openness to feedback and not interpreting criticisms or suggestions as reflections of your abilities is essential to your growth as a scientist. At times, I would feel frustrated or disappointed that I did not properly design an experiment or was unaware of some existing literature that should have guided me. However, gaining research skills takes time just as it took us years to gain the skills to be a physician—and feedback from patients, nurses, attendings, and medical students is part of that process. I remember tossing 10 drafts of an abstract in one day between myself and K. M. E. until I was able to clearly convey the essence of the study and our findings; through that process, the clarity of my writing improved! At the same time, occasions may arise where there are differences of opinion as to how to proceed in a project. At those times, it is important to openly discuss the different ways forward and come with a case for your own ideas. Establishing a relationship based on mutual respect from the beginning can make these conversations easier and can strengthen your work.

A mentoring relationship at its best can extend beyond the mechanics of determining study design, planning an experiment, or writing a manuscript. I have found comfort and guidance from K. M. E. in many areas of my life. She had the foresight to suggest that I study PFAPA syndrome, and I now see that studying this intriguing syndrome has allowed me to gain diverse research skills and establish my own niche. Our weekly meetings, which have continued over 9 years and even after I completed by pediatric infectious diseases fellowship and left Vanderbilt, are precious not only for the research guidance I received but also because they allowed me to have K. M. E.’s support in navigating other aspects of my personal and professional life. Many times, I came to our meetings unsure of what to do but emerged with clarity. K. M. E. has both consciously and subconsciously been a role model for me. I observed firsthand the genuine care she gave all members of her research team, her work ethic and passion, her deep commitment to her patients, her thirst for understanding the mechanisms of disease, her perseverance in the face of challenges, and how she balanced work and family life. I carry her example with me daily as I strive to be a physician-scientist. Academic medicine is challenging and requires grit and hard work; observing a person you admire successfully navigate that journey can provide just the motivation to keep exploring.

Acknowledgment. K. M. was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, NIAID.

Potential conflicts of interest. K. M. E. receives grant funding from the NIH and CDC, is a consultant to Bionet and IBM, and a member of the Data Safety and Monitoring Boards for Sanofi, X-4 Pharma, Seqirus, Moderna, Pfizer, Merck, and Roche. K. M. has no conflicts of interest to disclose. Both authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

Sambunjak D , Straus SE , Marusić A . Mentoring in academic medicine: a systematic review . JAMA 2006 ; 296 : 1103 – 15 .

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DeCastro R , Griffith KA , Ubel PA , Stewart A , Jagsi R . Mentoring and the career satisfaction of male and female academic medical faculty . Acad Med 2014 ; 89 ( 2 ): 301 – 11 .

Farkas AH , Bonifacino E , Turner R , Tilstra SA , Corbelli JA . Mentorship of women in academic medicine: a systematic review . J Gen Intern Med 2019 ; 34 ( 7 ): 1322 – 9 .

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In this chapter we present some examples of written reflection tools that may be useful in mentoring. Such tools seem to be used to some extent in school mentoring in Scandinavian countries, but they may also be relevant for mentoring in other countries. First, it seems to be quite common that the mentor and mentee establish some kind of written mentoring agreement . This agreement creates a framework for the following mentoring conversations. In addition the mentee can make an “ Individual reflection document “. This tool can either be a teaching plan or a personal narrative . These documents are intended to support individual reflection. It is also common that the mentee writes a log regularly which is used to reflect around practicum experiences. The examples in this chapter are mostly from the mentoring of student teachers, but they are also relevant to the mentoring of beginning teachers.

Mentoring agreement

What is a mentoring agreement.

A mentoring agreement is a written plan for collaboration between the mentor and the mentee. Its purpose is to establish and maintain a beneficial collaboration during practicum. When creating the mentoring agreement, it is essential that both parties are open about their expectations. Topics such as punctuality, deadlines, schedules for mentoring, development goals, work effort and mentoring pedagogy are often discussed. Often there will exist written institutional guidelines which have been made by the teacher education institution and practicum schools. These guidelines usually recommend how the agreement should be made. The mentoring agreement should also be revised regularly with follow-up questions such as “will we be able to achieve what we decided in the plan?”

Topics that can be included in a mentoring agreement for school practicum

Below we present some of the areas that are usually covered by a written agreement:

Formal information

There should be some formal information about both mentor and mentee like for instance the student’s name, field of study and the duration of practicum. The minimum information provided about the mentor should be name and contact information (i.e. telephone number, e-mail address etc.).

Mentor’s responsibilities

It´s important that the responsibilities of the mentor are described so that the mentee knows how much follow-up that can be expected. This will ensure that the mentor-mentee relationship has a more formal supportive structure. Some examples are presented below:

Mentor’s expectations of the mentee

A mentoring agreement should include mentor´s expectations of the student teacher. It is usually specified that the student teacher should meet prepared and be punctual. It also seems common to specify the amount of work the teacher is expected to do. For instance, the student teacher could be asked to make a detailed lesson plan which the mentor will give feedback on. Sometimes the student teacher must write a reflection log after each mentoring session.

The mentor and the mentee may not necessarily agree upon mentee’s responsibilities. It is therefore useful to specify the student teacher’s working hours, and expected work besides teaching (e.g. teacher collaboration, assessment, teacher-pupil conversations, planning, the use of learning platforms and extra-curricular activities). The agreement should include legal information about confidentiality aspects of the student teacher’s job.

Goals and objectives for practicum

The objectives in a mentoring agreement must be closely linked with the broader goals of the teacher training programmes and local practicum plans. These goals may include several different competencies (e.g. didactics, social skills, occupational ethics and change competencies). Here we see some examples of objectives from a mentoring agreement:

It may be difficult to assess if these objectives have been fulfilled. However, the mentor and mentee could also define more specific objectives within different areas of competence. The student teacher’s own expectations should be included in the agreement, and it is also possible for the student teacher to describe personal development goals. If such preferences are taken into consideration, it is more likely that the agreement will be seen as mutually binding.

Time management

Usually the amount of mentoring will be regulated by institutional guidelines. Sometimes the number of mentoring sessions will be specified. Other issues about time use can be agreed upon together with the student teacher. One could for instance discuss whether the mentoring should take place at regular time intervals or when the student experiences a need for it. The agreement could look like this: pre-lesson mentoring sessions at Mondays 8 – 9.30 am and debriefing sessions at Fridays 3.30-4.30 pm. The mentor can decide the time in advance, or the mentor and mentee can arrange a time that fits both parties’ schedules when they first meet. Most importantly, the time table must be mutually binding. Furthermore, the student teacher follows a plan for the practicum period that contains information about lessons, planned mentoring sessions, as well as other tasks such as staff meetings, yard duty, team meetings etc. All plans should be flexible, so that they can be adjusted throughout the practicum period.

Evaluation of practicum should be a separate item in the mentoring agreement. Some agreements, for instance, state that the student teacher during a mid-point evaluation will receive feedback on areas of strength and areas that need improvement. It might be beneficial to mention that the student teacher must show a will to change and develop and be prepared to tolerate honest feedback (from students, mentor and others). For instance, it could be stated that the student teacher must be able to constructively receive mentoring, and actively reflect on her own and other’s teaching. Additionally, it should be mentioned that the mentor will be evaluating the student teacher. The evaluation will assess that student teacher’s skills and aptitude for the teaching profession. The mentor will in addition write a report on the student teacher’s practicum.

Individual reflection document

A key principle in most theories on mentoring is to consider the mentee’s needs. A key strategy is to encourage student teachers to make different kinds of reflection documents. An individual reflection document can simply be a memo where needs are specified and which is given to the mentor. There are few restrictions regarding format and content. The mentor should, however, encourage the mentee to be as specific as possible. For instance, the mentee should avoid too many general phrases which do not refer to a specific situation (e.g. “I want to focus on a sense of community in the classroom”). The individual reflection document does not necessarily need to describe a problem, but can be a question or an issue the mentee would like to reflect upon. In teacher education, a reflection document can both be a personal narrative or a personalized written lesson plan.

An individual reflection document makes it easier for both mentor and mentee to prepare a mentoring session. The mentor can read the document before the meeting, thus helping the mentoring process off to a good start. The mentor should not, however, behave as if the meeting was an interview, where all the questions have been created in advance. This may inhibit the mentee’s capacity to present own thoughts. While being prepared, it is important to free oneself from one’s own notes and follow the dynamic of the conversation (Carson and Birkeland 2009: 75-76).

In a mentoring conversation this document will help the mentor to follow up several different topics. In the early stages of mentoring it is therefore important that the mentee is given sufficient reflection time. If the mentor starts to talk about a topic right from the start, it might be difficult for the mentee to bring up other topics later (Carson and Birkeland 2009:80).

Written lesson plan

A written lesson plan is a document that is made to support the preparation of a particular lesson. A written lesson plan is often used in a mentoring conversation before the actual classroom lesson. This will allow the mentee to reflect extensively on the forthcoming classroom teaching. As a consequence the mentoring conversation will usually be more specific.

According to Nilssen (2010), many student teachers think that planning documents are unnecessary and difficult to use. There seems to be several reasons. First of all, some student teachers claim that the mentors do not use reflection documents in their own teaching. A lession plan is therefore not regarded as an authentic planning tool. Second, some mentors claim that student teachers are not capable of using a lesson plan in a appropriate way. Both student teachers and mentors may find it difficult to understand the differences between the didactic categories. When asked about the lesson plan in a survey, a mentor named Sara expresses it like this: ”After several occasions where the students expressed discontent and confusion about how to complete the documents they were required to use, I started to wonder: “What do I get out of this, and equally important, what do the student teachers get out of this?” (…)“ (Nilssen 2010: 106-107). She considered the didactic relation model as having little to do with practicum, since the students did not get the opportunity to study examples of the model in actual use. Thus, she started filling out the document along with the students before lessons. She then thought out loud about her own teaching while asking questions of the students: What are we planning to do? Afterwards she started drawing. “I drew circles and arrows while saying for instance, I have to remember which classroom to go to, are my students familiar with this subject matter, what have they learned previously, what are they going to learn now? – I drew while we talked – and we ended up with the didactic relation model” (Nilssen 2010: 107-108).

Even though many teachers do not use a lesson plan for their own teaching, one could suggest that this thinking has been internalized as tacit knowledge . The lesson plan is also meant to further the student teacher’s didactic competence. Additionally, it can be used as a starting point for a pedagogical discussion regarding what the student teacher is thinking. A mentor who has actively used this kind of document with her student teachers explain:

This spring my students handed in a lesson plan for “it’s learning” two days before the lesson was to be held. I gave feedback that same evening. The day before the lesson we sat down with the lesson plan, where both my and the students’ comments where written down. Everyone was responsible for reading the lesson plan and prepare. This lead to many useful conversations and input regarding theories etc. At the end of the practicum period the students expressed that this method made them work on a different level when planning. I realized that it was a good way to make the pre-lesson mentoring more useful on a professional level (Nilssen 2010: 109).

According to Nilssen (2010), however, many mentors claim not to know how to use the lesson plan. There is a danger that this planning document serve only as a ritual document. For instance, many student teachers hand in their documents too late for the mentor to be able to make changes before lessons. The students may also be opposed to the lesson plan because they merely see it as a document to be assessed by the mentor and not as as a learning tool (Nilssen 2010: 107-108). Another disadvantage is that some inexperienced students may follow the plan too strictly, the consequence being that the teaching becomes too rigid with less room for improvisation and adjustment of the plan during the course of the lesson.

Personal narratives

The term “personal narrative” is typically used about a story from someone’s professional life in a daycare, school or healthcare facility. The narratives usually describe important episodes from the personally experienced daily life of the organization. The individuals working in the facility tell their stories, using their own language and concepts (Mørch 2004). The stories are told in the same chronological order as the actual episodes with a beginning, a culmination and an end. When the narrative conveys specific episodes from day-to-day life, it can give insight into a person’s feelings, thoughts and values. The complexity and dynamic of a situation are more easily recognized. In addition, the narrative provides an opportunity to discuss ethical and moral dilemmas that face professionals in their daily work (Birkeland 1999; Mørch 2004).

Some argue that personal narratives represent a different tradition of knowledge than the theoretical. A personal narrative refers to personal experiences from a work situation, but does not attempt to present it as an objective reality (Fennefoss & Jansen 2004). Personal narratives do not necessarily say anything about how reality should be, but consists of experiences that are considered significant on a personal level.

There are many different kinds of personal narratives: sunshine stories, success stories, routine stories, turning point stories, blunder stories, hero stories, problem stories, humour stories, exception stories. By using different kinds of personal narratives in a teaching context, we create different conditions for reflection. For instance, a turning point story is a story that turns established conceptions upside down and enables the narrator to develop new ways of thinking or to make new conceptions (Birkeland 2004).

The personal narrative is inspired by Jerome Bruner ‘s idea (1986) that identity also is a narrative construction. He describes the narrative as an inherently different form of knowledge than paradigmatic thinking. Our knowledge about who we are, our personal abilities, values and principles are upheld by our self-stories. The life of an individual consists of a diverse landscape, made up of various acts and occurrences. They all bear witness of the person’s abilities, values and experiences, but only a small amount of them end up as a part of the person’s self-stories. A plot can be considered as an organizing dimension that transform occurrences into stories with a beginning, a middle and an end. This constitutes the story’s core.

Personal narratives can be used in different ways. Fennefoss and Jansen (2004; 2008) suggest that personal narratives can be both a source for understanding and a method for pedagogical documentation. The significance of a story does not lie in the fact that something happened, but the way it happened. By writing down the personal narrative we might be able to discern other perspectives and possible ways of handling a situation, and turn them into subjects of reflection and eventually new attempts. The personal narratives can also serve as a starting point for discussion and reflection on ethical and moral dilemmas in the pedagogical practice.

A mentor in a kindergarten tells the following story: Tore did a lot of thinking about the values underlying his work. I asked him to write a personal narrative based on his interaction with the children. He described a situation which focused on a friendship between two girls. Some of the staff thought that the girls should be kept more apart, for instance by being placed at different tables during meals. Tore, on the other hand, had defended the friendship and tried to protect it. I asked Tore to explain why he thought the girls’ friendship was so important. He quickly started talking about his own experiences with friendship and why he felt that friendship was so important. During the conversation, Tore became more aware of the knowledge, experiences and values that were guiding his actions (Carson and Birkeland 2009:73).

Birkeland (1998) refers to how personal experiences inspire mutual reflection among colleagues in the daycare. Mørch (2004) also argues that the purpose of the personal narrative is to understand, develop or document professional work. In this context the stories are made by members of the staff and used in joint problem solving. Colleagues will contribute with different perspectives and create more awareness about dilemmas, conflicts and concerns. These stories might also strengthen the collective identity.

Log writing in mentoring

A logbook is originally a maritime tool used to record direction and variation in weather and wind conditions, as well as progression and other events. Originally, the logbook would contain short descriptions of central incidents and observations during the course of a day. The purpose of the log was to make this information available for other travellers.

Spontaneous log and reflection log

As a research method, log writing has been used extensively within ethnography. Today this tool is also used withing an educational context. Log writing is different from the rigid requirements of academic texts in that the texts can be more explorative. Nilssen (2010) refers to Torlaug Løkensgard Hoel who distinguishes between spontaneous logs and reflection logs .

The spontaneous log usually refers to a specific incident or observation. The content is written down in the midst of the situation and the notes are often unstructured. The focus is on the person’s feelings in the moment. It can be an expression of frustration or happiness. A student teacher describes the use of spontaneous log like this: “There was no need for fancy expressions, which made the task less complicated and time-consuming. I used key words, complete and incomplete sentences, mind maps, forms as well as reflections where some were related to theory (Nilssen 2010:101).

The reflection log is written more time is available. This log offers more reflective distance to the episodes. In this log it is possible to continue to work with episodes from the spontaneous log. We can add relevant theory which can enrich our interpretation of the episode. The text in the reflection log is also usually more structured. A student explains the interplay between the use of the spontaneous log and the reflection log: “Often when I look at old notes I notice how I was about to discover something that I had not yet understood. I can read between the lines or in my own use of words that I was progressing towards an understanding. By writing my thoughts down on paper I understood that I knew things I didn’t think I knew” (Nilssen 2010:102).

Nevertheless, mentors have mixed experiences with the use of logs. Nilssen (2010) refers to a mentor named Anna who finds it difficult to motivate all students to undertand the benefits of writing a log. She has several questions:

Anna’s group of student teachers has mixed experiences with log writing. Two of the students had written every day and received feedback from their mentor once a week. They found it useful and were hoping to continue with the log writing. Another student wrote a log exclusively for herself. She did not understand its purpose. The fourth student published his logs in the group’s online project room, where he received comments from both mentor and fellow students (Nilssen 2010:98).

The pedagogical idea behind log writing is that we develop a better understanding of a matter if we put our thoughts into words. Oral communication will make us aware of our thoughts, but it is through writing that we develop the skill to reflect systematically. We become more aware of what we do, and better at separating the essential from the nonessential in our daily lives. For a reader the log text can appear as incoherent because the text might be unfinished, informal, fragmentary and associative. A student teacher describes her own writing like this: “I knew beforehand that I had gained valuable experience from practicum and learned a lot. But I was not aware of what I had learned specifically. By writing and sorting my thoughts I was able to become more aware. This is crucial if the experience is to be of use later on” (Nilssen 2010: 100).

The log writing can help bring together theory and practical experience. For instance, the mentor can include the use of theory in log assignments. In addition, the log writing can contribute to a better communication between mentor and student teacher. The log will help the mentor understand the student teacher’s thoughts and reflections. The mentor Sarah describes it like this: “Even though we try to include everyone in the mentoring conversations, some have a tendency to withdraw. That is why the log is important. In their log writing the students tend to express themselves clearer, and we can use what they have written in the mentoring conversations. It is of course a prerequisite that they think it is okay to share logs. The logs often give me as much knowledge about the students as the mentoring conversations. I can see that Irene focuses on herself, she is describing her feelings and experiences. The same is true with Ina. Iver emphasizes his role as a teacher which is new for him. Erik is mostly concerned with small things that have not worked and that will need to be adjusted before the next lesson. Eli says a lot that shows that she sees the students and reflects on her encounter with them” (Nilssen 2010: 103).

Giving feedback on logs

In order for the log to become a useful tool in the learning process, it seems to be important to give feedback to the student teachers. The feedback can widen the student teacher’s perspective. Below are some examples of how a mentor can give feedback on the logs (Nilssen 2010:103):

The type of feedback will depend on several factors:

Some student teachers feel insecure about log writing. The abovementioned factors can therefore be discussed with the mentee in order to get a common understanding of its purpose. To get the most out of log writing it is a good idea to share the logs with fellow students. Online file sharing has made this easier. With shared logs students have a place to get advice and vent frustration, while also having access to a source of professional knowledge and development. With this kind of openness challenges are easier to share and are made less private. On the other hand, some may feel too vulnerable with an open log. A student puts it this way: “I see the advantage in addressing my thoughts through a log, but I find it threatening that others can read about what I feel that I don’t master. (…) “ (Nilssen 2010: 104). One mentor has let the log sharing be optional: “The logs don’t necessarily have to be accessible. With some groups of student teachers I have made it optional. In some cases, if the logs are very personal, I let the communication regarding the log be solely between the student and me. I have for instance a young student who is struggling with reading and writing difficulties, and who because of this has struggled with self-esteem. Our goal was that she in her 2nd year would dare to publish her logs in the online sharing room” (Nilssen 2010: 104).

– Baltzersen, Rolf K (2007). IKT – mirakelkur eller tynn suppe? En kritisk analyse av sentrale teknologibegreper innenfor skolefeltet . Halden: Høgskolen i Østfold (HiØ. Rapport. 2007:9). Rapport – Baltzersen, Rolf K (2007). Digitale fortellinger i skolen (Versjon april 2012). Mainz: PediaPress (121 sider). PDF-versjon – Birkeland, L (1998). Pedagogiske erobringer. Om praksisfortellinger og vurdering i barnehagen . Oslo: Pedagogisk Forum – Birkeland, L. (2004). Fortællinger som fænger og fanger. Praksisfortællinger og personaleudvikling i børnehaven. Mørch, Susanne Idun (Red.). Pædagogiske praksisfortællinger . Systime Academic. – Bruner, J.S. (1986). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. – Bruner, J.S. (1990). Acts of Meaning . Cambridge: Harvard University Press. – Carson, Nina og Åsta Birkeland (2009). Veiledning for førskolelærere . Kristiansand: Høgskoleforlaget – Czarniawska, B. (2004). Narratives in social science research . London: Sage. – Epston, D.; White, M. & Murray, K. (1992). A Proposal for Re-authoring Therapy: Rose’s Revisoning of her Life and a Commentary. McNamee, S. & Gergen, K.J. (Red). Therapy as Social Construction . London-Newbury Park-New Delhi: Sage Publications. – Fennefoss, A.T. & Jansen, K.E. (2004). Praksisfortellinger – på vei til innsikt og forståelse . Bergen: Fagbokforlaget. – Fennefoss, A.T. & Jansen, K.E. (2008). Småbarnspedagogikk og praksisfortellinger . Bergen: Fagbokforlaget. – Gergen, K. & Gergen, M. (2004). Social Construction: Entering the Dialogue . Chagrin Falls, Ohio: Taos Institute Publications. – Labov, W. (1972). Language in the Inner City . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. – Lundby, G. (1998) . Historier og terapi. Om narrativer, konstruksjonisme og nyskriving av historier . Oslo: Tano Aschehoug – Mishler, E.G. (1999). Storylines: Crafts artists’ narratives of identity . Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press. – Morgan, A. (2005). Narrative samtaler . København: Hans Reitzels Forlag. – Mørch, Susanne Idun (2004). Pædagogiske praksisfortællinger . Systime Academic. – Nilssen, V. (2010) Praksislæreren . Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. – Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in narrative analysis. I A.J. Hatch & R. Wisniewsky (Eds.). Life, History and Narrative . London: The Falmer Press. – Rasmussen, J. (2004). Undervisning i det refleksivt moderne: Politik, profession, pædagogik . Hans Reitzels Forlag. – Ricoeur, P. (1984). Time and Narrative . London: The Falmer Press. – Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences . Thousand Oaks: Sage. – Rogoff, B. (2003). The Cultural Nature of Human Development . Oxford: Oxford University Press. – Winslade, J.M. & Monk, G.D. (2008). Narrativ vejledning i skolen . Corwin Press Inc. & Dansk Psykologisk Forlag. – White, M. & Epston. D. (1990). Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends . New York: Norton. – White, M. & Morgan, A. (2007). Narrativ terapi med børn og deres familier . København: Akademisk Forlag. – White, M. (2006). Narrativ praksis . København: Hans Reitzels Forlag. – White, M. (1995). Re-Authoring Lives . Adelaide, Australia: Dulwich Centre Publications.

Mentoring. A Scandinavian perspective Copyright © by Rolf K. Baltzersen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Mentorship Matters—UGA Mentor Program Inspires Students

English major Mann Sy Tha credits his time in the UGA Mentor Program to his newfound knowledge of writing and publishing speculative fiction—specifically, short stories. “I have always been passionate about creative writing and eventually publishing,” Sy Tha says in a reflection of the program for his English 4001: Careers for English Majors course taught by Christine Lasek-White. “I now have a view into what being a professional author looks like.”

Upon joining the UGA Mentor Program, Sy Tha challenged himself to write a 3,000 – 4,000-word short story that would then be submitted to various speculative fiction publications at the end of the sixteen-week program. Through his mentor Lauren Teffeau (MMC ’05), he learned about many aspects of the publishing landscape. From being introduced to writing resources and creativity exercises, to learning about the marketing aspect of publishing, Sy Tha and Teffeau covered a vast range of ground throughout the program.

Sy Tha says he realized that even under a self-imposed deadline, it is possible to be creative in one’s work. “Creativity is spontaneous and can arise out of the most random things,” he writes. He also credits mentor Teffeau with his new knowledge of helpful online writing resources such as writer forums, communities, and articles from other writers. “There are so many amazing resources online that I simply was not aware of,” he said of the tools inspired him to continue writing.

“I certainly feel as though my time with Lauren Teffeau has equipped me to better face the short story submission landscape,” Sy Tha continues. “I am very happy to have made this connection through the mentorship program.”

Whether you join the UGA Mentor Program as a mentor or mentee, you become part of connecting the Dawgs. The program gives students the opportunity to connect with experienced faculty, staff, and alumni based on goals and interests. Join today and experience what it means to have another member of the Bulldog family in your corner.

Image: Mann Sy Tha  

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