Navigating college \u2013 or any new chapter of one\u2019s life \u2013 can be intimidating among all the novel and unfamiliar things encountered. But it does not have to be done alone. Sometimes there is a need for someone who has been through it all before \u2013 and that is where mentors come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is a mentor?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to an article for Business News Daily<\/a> by contributing writer Matt D\u2019Angelo, mentorship is defined as \u201ca mutually beneficial professional relationship in which an experienced individual (the mentor) imparts knowledge, expertise, and wisdom to a less experienced person (the mentee) while simultaneously honing their mentoring skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have participated in many different mentorships \u2013 both ones that I have applied or signed up for and ones that have happened more naturally. The people I have met through organizations such as The Recording Academy\u2019s GRAMMY<\/a> and Well Dunn Foundation<\/a> have guided me through my early years in the music business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though mentors can provide the technical knowledge you may be seeking, they are much, much more than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mentees to mentors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trey Clements<\/a>, an instructor of education at Sinclair Community College, first experienced significant mentorship during his junior year at Miami University.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt kind of came at a time when I needed it most,\u201d Clements said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Navigating a predominantly white institution (PWI)<\/a> as a minority was difficult for Clements, but it also introduced him to Dr. Sheri Leafgren<\/a>. Leafgren and Clements spoke regularly and bonded over their \u201ccritical lens\u201d of education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt might have been my first opportunity to be exposed to true equity being offered to me,\u201d Clements said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And it is because of that mentorship that Clements has returned to the institution to speak to current students. Additionally, Clements works with nonprofit organizations throughout southwestern Ohio to break down financial barriers for students wishing to work in education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A mentor also helped the trajectory of Jessica Bloomingdale\u2019s<\/a> career. She is currently the project director for the Mentoring Collaborative of Montgomery County<\/a>, which provides training and resources to organizations providing mentorship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She met her mentor, Jill, through a youth group. At a time when she was painfully shy and unsure of herself, Bloomingdale had someone to help her out of her shell. Jill offered the encouragement Bloomingdale had needed for quite some time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe gave me the confidence to pursue different things,\u201d Bloomingdale said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the past 20 years, Bloomingdale has mentored and watched various youth grow up. One mentee, she said, began doing environmental work \u2013 inspired by the very youth group in which Bloomingdale started. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Without Jill\u2019s support, Bloomingdale said, \u201cI have no idea where I would\u2019ve ended up.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Mentors can be professors, counselors, coworkers, friends, and even family”<\/p>Carly Webster<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n What does mentoring look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n These are great examples of successful and long-term connections, but mentorship looks different for everyone. Sometimes the needs are more tangible, while other times more intangible things (like advice) are exchanged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For Clements, mentorship is about \u201cbeing available\u201d and \u201coffering answers\u201d wherever they are needed. Being a mentor means avoiding making assumptions about what exactly those needs are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Clements likes to start the conversation about mentorship in his classes, finding that it often helps students be more open about the ways in which they may be struggling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And if he does not have the capacity or ability to help fill those gaps, he tries to find someone who can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is {young people are] a little bit more apprehensive to jump in with folks they\u2019re not privy to,\u201d he said. \u201cMentorship is not a one-to-one encounter, but it\u2019s a one-to-all possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clements said that these connections allow students to have access to things they may not have previously been aware of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n