My Current Mentoring Philosophy
and Capability
I wrote this mentoring philosophy a few years ago, and it still rings true for me. But...read all the way to the bottom, as my capability for being a graduate mentor is changing quite a bit in my current role.
I think that the most important things that I can do for undergraduate or graduate students is to help them to have excitement and curiosity about the field, and confidence in themselves as scientists and professionals. Along the way, they should feel that I am personally interested in, and invested in their growth as individuals, as lifelong learners, and as scientists.
How do I best instill these things? I need to provide an environment that is stimulating, surrounded by a support network of stimulating classes and individuals. Practically, I think I do this best when we meet regularly to talk about ideas in papers or that we are working on, in a forum where I increasingly do less and less of the talking, and more of the listening, nodding, smiling, and getting excited about the mentees’ ideas. I try to encourage students to learn from one another, graduates and undergraduates, from the most talented faculty on campus, to attend seminars, etc. Sometimes stimulating mentees come in the form of challenges (taking that course that I know they’ll thank me for later…).
I hope that I can provide confidence by providing a predictable structure (I am notably weak in this area). The structure should include an exchange of ideas about our goals and expectations from one another, schedules for when we hope that things are accomplished (classes, degree requirements, research, etc), and levels of support (financial etc). Students should feel a great deal of personal investment in the structure of their programs; it helps them find the inner strength to carry through when times are tough …meeting their own goals, not mine.
I would like to show the students that I am personally interested in them by asking questions about them, their current interests and outside life, and how they are feeling about their academic situation as well. Because personal friendships can generate some conflicts of interest in many ways, as long as I am supervising the student, I do not want to get too personally close to individuals, but, as soon as they have “fledged”, find that my past mentees become close friends and mentors to me as well. Peers provide crucial personal support for one another, and I work quite hard to get my students set up with a peer group to which they feel very connected.
Finally, I am personally committed to helping mentees understand the process and responsibilities of science, and the life of a scientist. I would like for my mentees to see what my life is like in terms of balancing (or not!) kids, marriage, teaching, research, and service to the community. If I can convey more of a sense of purpose to and love for the endeavor, than a sense of insane hard work and frustration and being overwhelmed… then, I was successful.
All of that said, in my current position (Directing the Program in Environment and Natural Resources), I travel a huge amount, have a very full calendar, and unpredictable demands on my time, I am not the world's best advisor (far from it, in fact). A student who will succeed with me now will be able to know when the time is to ask for help (aggressively), find me for intellectual support, and be able to recommend solutions for methodological/logistical issues, and bring those recommendations to me.
