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Consider Becoming a Mentor

If you are looking to connect with students outside of the virtual classroom, consider becoming a mentor, especially during these rough and tumultuous times. According to Merriam-Webster, a mentor is “someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced person”.

Students are often seeking guidance and support both inside and outside of the classroom. As such, faculty-student mentoring is of the utmost need. At Northwest Vista College, our faculty-student mentoring program consists of a partnership between faculty (the mentors) and students (the mentees). Specifically, both parties meet to discuss the mentee’s goals, whether that be short term or long term. Per the Faculty-Student Mentoring website, “The purpose of mentoring is to provide students with greater individual attention to enable students to fulfill their potential as students, professionals, and community members. Mentors can help students transition to college, find needed resources, meet other students, get involved with a student organization, plan for a career, develop marketable skills, and transfer to a university.

The Faculty Student Mentor Program is here to support students throughout their time in our programs and until they complete their goals with us and complete a degree, transfer to a university, or enter employment. Students receive encouragement, support, and guidance toward goal completion from a faculty member in a discipline similar to the student’s program goal. This program formalizes the important interactions between faculty and students to be used in conjunction with a professional advisor with the intention of promoting student retention and completion.”  Furthermore, mentors help mentees achieve their goals by clarifying steps to success.

However, mentors do not replace the job of the mentee’s certified advisor. Instead, mentors work alongside the certified advisors as a team to guide the mentee. Finally, mentoring often results in a “win-win” situation. Specifically, mentees appreciate being held accountable to their goals. In the case of the mentors, touchstone skills such as leadership, openness, and joy are acquired.

Currently, NVC has 81 active mentors along with 107 active mentees. In order to meet the demands of our diverse student population, we would like to encourage more faculty and staff to sign up as mentors. We have streamlined the process of being a mentor at NVC. With just a few simple steps, faculty/staff are well on their way to mentoring. This is done order to ensure that the mentor focuses their time and attention on their mentee.  For more information regarding this program, please visit https://www.alamo.edu/nvc/academics/resources/faculty-student-mentors/.  If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please email Patrick Fontenot at pfontenot@alamo.edu

Contributed by Nadia Bakdash
Assistant Professor, NVC Natural and Physical Science

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