College is a time for exploring new opportunities, meeting new people, and learning about new ideas. It’s also a time to start creating connections with people who can provide you with the support and guidance you need to move toward your ultimate career goals. Experienced and trusted advisors — or mentors — can be hard to find, but they are invaluable resources. Here are some ways to find the right mentor and make the most of the relationship.
Identify Why You Want a Mentor
Every student has different goals, so before you start looking for an actual mentor, you need to determine why YOU want one. Are you looking for someone who can help you pursue a professional career path? Someone who can help you navigate the rigors of an intense major or concentration? Or someone who can help you just figure out your next steps?
You’ll also want to ask yourself what you hope to gain from being mentored, and what you can bring to the relationship (at its best, mentoring is a two-way street). Once you know the answers to some of the questions above, you’ll have a more defined idea of why you want a mentor, and once you’ve created a more targeted approach to finding the right mentor, it’ll be easier to identify the right one(s).
Don’t Limit Yourself to One Kind of Mentor
People often think that a mentor needs to be someone who is significantly older than they are with years of experience and vast industry connections. But don’t limit yourself to thinking that your mentor has to fit this mold. Mentors come in all shapes and sizes. Your perfect mentor might be another student a year ahead of you in your major, or an approachable professor outside your major. What matters most is that you find a mentor who can help you along your journey, whatever path you take.
You may also find that you need more than one mentor — that’s not a bad thing! That student a year ahead can help you with your course loads and schoolwork, but the manager at your student employment job can help you learn about life as a working professional. Use all the resources at your disposal, and be open to working with mentors with different experiences and skills.
Be Respectful
Being respectful doesn’t just mean being polite and listening to what your mentor has to say; it means being respectful of their time and experience. Remember that your mentors are choosing to do this because they want to help you. Make sure you respect this by being on time for meetings, coming prepared, and truly taking to heart the information each mentor shares with you. You don’t have to do everything they suggest, but seriously consider their advice. Show them through your words and actions that you appreciate their time.
Keep the Lines of Communication Open
With everything you have going on, it can be difficult to stay up to date with your mentor. You don’t have to talk to them every day or even every week, but keep the lines of communication open to continually build upon your relationship and show them that you are working toward your goals. Send follow-up emails after meetings with progress updates, ask questions as they arise, and keep your mentor updated about situations they are helping you navigate. Open communication will help your mentor see that you are committed to the relationship and allow them to stay connected to you as you continue to evolve.
Know When It’s Over
Not every mentor/mentee relationship is meant to last forever, and that’s OK. It’s important to understand that every relationship is different, and you are not a failure if your relationships don’t work out for whatever reason. Your mentor may get too busy, you may get too busy, you may change your career path, or the relationship may simply run its course. All these reasons are perfectly valid. Just make sure that when you do realize the relationship is no longer beneficial to both parties, you let it go. The end of one mentoring relationship simply means an opportunity for another one to begin!
A good mentor/mentee relationship enriches the lives of both parties. A good mentor can offer you invaluable insight to help you navigate your personal, professional, and academic lives. Once you know what kind of mentors you need, don’t hesitate to go find them. Most individuals will be flattered to be a mentor, and will want to help you. A good mentor can make all the difference, and the sooner you start looking, the sooner you’ll find the one — or ones — who’s right for you.
—Alexa Panza
members of the SHPEP program
Lakita Maulson, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
A member of the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Nation of northern Wisconsin, Lakita Maulson earned her BS in kinesiology, and is now a rising fourth-year medical student at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She is currently on a gap year pursuing an MBA. Maulson participated in the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) during the summer of 2012 at the University of Washington in Seattle. SHPEP is a free summer enrichment opportunity focused on improving access to information and resources for college students interested in the health professions. The program’s goal is to strengthen the academic proficiency and career development of students underrepresented in the health professions, and prepare them for successfully applying to and succeeding at health professions schools. SHPEP is a national program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with direction and technical assistance provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). To learn more, visit shpep.org.
“This program was one of the most formative experiences of my undergraduate career,” Maulson says. “It provided me with many opportunities to shadow and be mentored by some great physicians, and it immersed me within a space where underrepresented students like me, from a disadvantaged background, could come together to learn more about what it means to pursue a career in health care. I've met my best friends through this program, so I highly encourage anyone and everyone to apply to this fantastic program!”
Do (or did) you have a mentor?
I’ve had many mentors throughout my years on the challenging path to becoming a physician. I didn’t know anyone within health care growing up, so I needed to gain mentors along the way to help steer me in the right direction. It was challenging to find mentors who fit what I was looking for at times, especially since American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) physicians are few and far between. But participating in programs such as SHPEP was an excellent way to meet mentors outside the American Indian community who were just as dedicated to helping individuals like me succeed.
Have you been a mentor to anyone else?
Since there are so few AI/AN physicians, and I struggled to find a mentor from my community, I vowed to try to help those behind me who were struggling in the same way. I mentor up-and-coming premedical students every chance I get because I know from experience how valuable the information I have gained can be to someone who has no idea where to begin. I find it very rewarding to help other students navigate the challenging process of applying and getting accepted to medical school — I wish I’d had access to more guidance when I was going through the process myself. It’s an even more rewarding experience when I get to mentor students from AI/AN communities because I know I’m filling an essential need within our community.
Do you see a value in having a mentor?
Having a mentor is extremely important in any profession. Being able to bounce ideas off someone who has experience in the field, as well as get advice and feedback from them, is crucial to any student’s success. My story reflects someone who was often told by premed advisors that I’d never get into medical school with my metrics (GPA and MCAT scores). The mentors in my life at the time, on the other hand, encouraged me to stay true to my path. They helped me improve my grade trend and find the right opportunities to make me a more appealing applicant. Ultimately, this led to acceptances at multiple medical schools. I could not have accomplished that without my mentors.
What advice do you have for someone who is looking for a mentor?
Seek out mentors rather than hope they’ll fall into your lap. To ensure success, you need to find mentors who fit what you’re looking for when it comes to your chosen profession. Since I heard negative things any time I visited the general premedical advising center, I decided not to go back. Instead, I sought out other mentors who I knew were working closely with underrepresented and disadvantaged students trying to get into medical school. With this change in approach I received much more positive feedback. These mentors worked hard with me to channel my best features as an applicant, to improve my GPA over time, to research schools that were within my target range, and ultimately to submit a great medical school application. One way I actively sought out these individuals was by participating in programs like SHPEP, dedicated to helping underrepresented and disadvantaged students.
Another critical piece of advice is that the mentor-mentee relationship is a two-way street. Mentees should expect to put just as much effort into maintaining the relationship as a mentor. This means reaching out to your mentors often, even if it’s just an update on how you’re doing in your classes and extracurricular activities. These brief check-ins are useful for fostering a strong mentor-mentee relationship. Also, if your mentor does not respond right away, reach out again! Often they are just busy, and somehow your message got lost in the pile of things they need to get to. A reminder message is more than okay if you haven’t heard back in a reasonable time.
What should you expect to get out of the relationship?
The most significant takeaway from a mentor-mentee relationship is the sense that your mentor has your best interests at heart. This doesn’t mean that your mentor has to be your best friend, just that you feel they are giving you sound advice and have a significant interest in your goals and the path you are taking to reach them. Also, a mentor-mentee relationship does not always have to be long-term. It’s okay to reach out just once or twice to obtain the information you need. I do recommend you have at least one long-term mentor, however, so that you always have a sounding board — someone who has a deep understanding of your goals as a future professional.
From your experience as a mentee, what advice would you give to future mentors?
First, always have your mentee’s best interest at heart. Second, you don’t have to know the answer to every question to be an active mentor. Be willing to reach out to people who might have the answer and be prepared to refer your mentee when needed. Third, give the advice you wish you had been given, even if you think it is something everyone should know. I guarantee not everyone knows, and you will likely save your mentee a lot of time and stress by just letting them know what you’ve learned. Fourth, reach out to your mentee regularly to check in on them. This does not have to be every day or every week — it could be monthly or even once a semester, whatever you decide is best for your schedule. Finally, have fun. It’s a great privilege to mentor other individuals who are pursuing your same path, especially within our communities where mentors are scarce. The more fun you have with it, the better the mentor-mentee relationship will be.
