The Power of Mentoring
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Posted By: Nina Lyon-Bennett on September 23, 2024 In her article, "The Power of Mentorship: How Mentors Can Help Employees Grow and Succeed," Kara Dennison explains that mentorship is a great way to enhance career development. She writes, "Mentors provide guidance on current career paths, offer advice on the job search, and provide crucial industry insights." [Individuals] "will be better able to make informed decisions when taking steps toward career growth, including upward mobility" as they prepare to graduate from college, pursue a particular career path, or decide how to move up within the company. Mentoring has been extremely helpful to me. My first experience with mentoring came when I decided to attend graduate school. Fresh out of college with a degree in sociology, I had no idea what I wanted to do next. I met a wonderful gentleman, Dr. Wilbur Watson, who, at the time, was chair of the sociology department at Atlanta University. I don't recall how we met but what I do recall is him asking a very important question, "Are you interested in going to graduate school?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to attend graduate school, but the question caused me to pause and think about my future. Where was I going, and how was I going to get there? I believe in the power of mentorship. I know what a difference it can make, particularly for students. At the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the School of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Human Sciences (UAPB SAFHS) has teamed up with Mentor Collective, higher education's peer mentoring platform, to strengthen the power of connection by increasing a sense of belonging and student retention by activating our most important asset— our students. We have developed a peer-to-peer mentoring program, matching our incoming students with academically successful upper-class students to help them navigate college. Whether you are a first-generation college student, just entering medical school, starting your graduate-school career, or just starting a new job, we can all attest to being overwhelmed at times by the newness of it all. For many of us, we are the small fish in the big pond. It can be a challenge figuring out who to go to, when, and for what. We don't know what we don't know until we find out we don't know it. This is why mentoring can be such a powerful tool. Having the right mentor can help you navigate the hidden curriculum or unspoken rules that do not appear in the student or employee handbook. As an academic leader in higher education, my main priority is to help students succeed academically and socially and to graduate on time. I want to cultivate a sense of community and gain insight into students’ needs at critical moments in their higher education journey. These goals can easily translate to any company environment. When you are hired, your employer should want to see you succeed, learn the company culture, and establish a sense of belonging. Your employer should want you to have a productive career at the company while you are there. As Dennison writes, "Peer mentorship helps build camaraderie and a sense of community among colleagues. Peer-to-peer mentorship is valuable when the team’s objectives include fostering stronger work cultures and team dynamics." I am intentionally driving student engagement while gaining actionable intelligence into student challenges while there is still time to act. I can't fix what I don't know. This is also true for employers. "Mentorships can help employees feel more confident in their roles, giving them a stronger sense of purpose within the organization. Feeling supported helps employees feel more invested and fulfilled in their commitment to the company." As a higher education leader, my goal is to create authentic connections for hundreds of new and current students, to direct students to the support services they actually need, and to gain insights into student challenges through peer-to-peer conversations. As with any program, it is important to choose mentors who will be committed and have the extra time and resources to offer. In SAFHS, we have incentivized mentorship by providing our student mentors with stipends. We celebrate them at the end of each semester with a certificate and provide them with a digital badge they can place on their LinkedIn profile. Serving as a mentor in college is a translatable skill employers are looking for, such as communication, leadership, team-building, time management, work ethics, vision casting, decision-making, problem-solving, and self-management. College mentoring programs help to build social capital, develop critical career search and workforce skills, and utilize networking opportunities. Mentoring is all about empowerment, and it's a powerful tool for creating a sense of belonging, increased retention, improved performance, collaboration, and establishing a positive campus (or work) atmosphere. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Nina Lyon-Bennett
Assistant Dean for Academics, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Clark Atlanta University class of 1983 Member Since May 2021 |
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