Mentorship In Difficult Times

For this week's blog post I am returning to something that I have reflected on twice already- mentorship. I wrote about mentorship in February , but also had a chance to review a post I wrote way back in 2012 about mentorship . The reason why mentorship is top of mind for me right now is that I'm finding myself discovering more of these mentorship opportunities during the pandemic which I think is interesting for at a time of over-extend you would think that mentor work would be just one more thing to a list of things, but it isn't and I want to expand on how they can just happen organically. It is my hope that this post might start a discussion on mentorship that goes beyond the articles that I have seen in The Chronicle or Inside HigherEd about the tension and difference between mentorship and advising in relation to doctoral students, to explore some possibilities of "everyday mentorship" that might be extensions of what we are already doing and not realize it. 

If you search for the etymology of mentor as a verb there are a lot of roots in the late 19th and early 20th century. Having someone to support and guide is something that one would think is a rather formative experience in tertiary education spaces. However, this is often very much not the case. One only has to look at the experiences that first-generation students have at colleges and universities to see how having a mentor would have made all the difference.

Shameless plug here for the next #FirstGenPLN Twitter chat which will be happening next Sunday, October 10th at 7pm ET. Yes I know it is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, but maybe you can use it as an excuse to get out of awkward conversations with friends and family during that time.  😀

We are used to thinking about mentorship as something that can only happen within a formal framing. For example, I signed up to be a mentor for the UTSC alumni group for students in the English department (as an alumna and former sessional instructor I felt it would be a good opportunity to give back). There are many such programs that one can be involved in formally whether it be for your alma mater, a sports group, libraries in your town (for example the Toronto Public Library has such a program focused on career development),  and many other places such as community centres. All of these usually involve signing up, being vetted to be appropriate for such a program, and then being given a mentee who aligns to your expertise and experience.

However, higher education provides many opportunities for these not so formal mentorship support systems to grow and flourish beyond doctoral advising. I know that I mentioned a few weeks ago how office hours can really be a space where great conversations happen that may not always be directly about the content of the course or an upcoming assignment. Office hours can be places where students work through questions about grad school, potential paths to future careers, and even discuss volunteer opportunities that they are looking for. These are all opportunities for informal mentoring that could continue even beyond the term or the end of the course you are teaching.

It does seem like that in these difficult times, more and more folk are looking for exactly that space to explore those possibilities. Because of distancing that has happened many of the informal spaces where these conversations were had in the past have disappeared or changed and we need to build them again in new ways. And it is not just undergraduate or graduate students who are looking for these spaces; early career researchers, community organizers, even neighbours are looking for places of trust and help finding help. Your perspective, knowledge, and experience could be the key to supporting someone on the path to something else and something great. 

I know that actively putting one more thing on your plate right now is simply not doable as we are trying to just survive. That is not what I am saying. What I am saying is that we should maybe try to navigate through the world being more open to these informal possibilities that happen in our every day that could end up being an hour or so and benefit so much more.  For example, I was in a workshop a few weeks ago when an ECR mentioned having difficulty finding a position despite interviews.  Some would have taken that as a one off comment and moved on. However, if you have ever reflected on networking opportunities or have been in the long search for work, the advice is always mention your work search in many places because you never know who will be listening. So I reached out to that person and sent them an email. And we had a lovely chat via Zoom one evening last week about job searches, questions folk ask in interviews, etc. It was a nice way to connect with another human and also not only support them in their search, but also learn more about another college system.

Thus, what I am flagging here is that the opportunity to give back can just appear and you can take it if you want to (it would be nice if you could if you can). Mentorship is even more important in difficult times when formal mentor mentee programs may not be something your calendar can allow. These informal opportunities, chats on Zoom, emails from former students, can mean so much to that person and you never know when they will appear. And spoiler alert, it can make you feel a whole lot better too. I know we are very much in the individualism rules part of our collective social history, but maybe let's try to break out of that, one small conversation at time.