<aside> <img src="/icons/book-closed_orange.svg" alt="/icons/book-closed_orange.svg" width="40px" /> Core Expectations

• Conduct in-person and online meetings with 1st and 2nd-year students to provide personalized guidance on key topics such as mastering balance (study smarter, managing time, and thriving in life), exploring career paths and opportunities, and developing research skills and finding research opportunities.
• Communicate with mentees via Telegram chats to share resources, answer questions, and provide continuous support.
• Facilitate workshops, group activities, and individual meetings that focus on helping students achieve academic success, personal growth, and career readiness.
• Mentor students in essential skills such as time management, strategic planning, research techniques, and career exploration, tailored to their individual needs. </aside>

Traits of Successful Mentors

There are certain traits that successful mentors demonstrate. The following are common characteristics and traits of effective mentors:

• They meet their own ongoing professional and personal goals
• They value continuing education and ongoing learning.
• They advance their own knowledge of their field by staying on top of the latest news and trends
• A good mentor will exhibit enthusiasm about their studies and the University so even how you write and respond to emails is one way your mentee will take a cue on how to act at the University.

Let Your Mentee Make Their Own Decisions

While you may be more experienced than your mentee, it’s important to guide them and let them make their own decisions. You can give advice and let them figure out what decisions to make. This is part of the evolution process and allows your mentee to learn by trial and error. It also allows your mentee to continue to grow and become confident in their decisions independently of you.

While you may be able to help your mentee find a solution to their problems, you can’t fix the problem for them. A successful mentor understands that listening is just as important as offering advice or guidance. Letting your mentee know that you are available and willing to listen and brainstorm when needed will foster open communication and a more productive relationship.

Providing constructive criticism is also a requirement of the mentor-mentee relationship, so don’t be afraid to sound like a harsh critic, as long as your approach is pertinent, honest and compassionate. Giving regular feedback from the start can help them develop as a professional by ensuring they set high expectations for themselves.

Getting and Giving Support

Peer mentors need support, too. Be sure to communicate your experiences and feelings about peer mentorship. Sometimes you can feel very excited and energized by helping others, and sometimes it can be exhausting and frustrating. Sometimes students may snap at you or forget to say “thank you” after you just spent thirty minutes trying to help them.

The following are just a few suggestions for getting and giving support as a peer mentor. You can probably think of more!

• If you learn something new while helping a student, share the knowledge with the other peer mentors. This is primarily done by making a note of your experience. Your learning experience becomes everyone’s learning experience.
• Ask for the support you need when you need it.
• Focus on developing your strengths and ask for constructive feedback in areas you want to improve.
• Talk about challenging or worrisome cases with the Peer Mentorship Program Coordinator or any AAO Staff Member.
• Identify and discuss issues of concern.