I think mentorship can be highly overlooked in the undergraduate community. This is mostly because we feel that professors and Ph.D. students can be so far in their own fields, and so we’re just intruding in on their time. They’re so impressive that it is almost intimidating. However, in hindsight, you start to realize how important their mentorship becomes in your life. I think a lot of undergraduates value mentorship in the sense that they’re being given an opportunity in the current moment to do research or work on a project. This is the perspective I had on mentorship when I entered research. Luckily, for me, mentorship turned out to be so much more; it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Other than the technical aspects, like asking for a recommendation letter, mentorship is valuable because the whole basis of it is that someone has given you a chance to prove yourself. This inadvertently builds your confidence in your field, even if you feel intimidated at first. I didn’t realize how much of my confidence was from my high school mentorship opportunities until I got to college and lost that bubble. As a first-year, I relied heavily on the fact that there was someone who believed in me and mentored me in high school, and that reliance gave me strength in the face of rejection (especially in the competitive atmosphere in Princeton). The fact that I had found a mentor before as a high school first-year (when I was far less developed than my college self) made me certain that I would be able to find a mentor here on campus, even when imposter syndrome whispered in my ear that there’s a high chance I wouldn’t be able to.
On a less sappy note, mentorship is also valuable because this is someone who didn’t just take a chance on you once, but is someone who will continue to do so (as long as you continue earning their trust and respect, of course). A mentor will not ignore you once you’ve left their lab or finished their project. Whenever you reach out, they will be there for you, and that’s a valuable part of the network you build as you grow up and leave your family’s bubble. Once again, this is not just when asking for a recommendation letter – this could be rejoining the lab in the future for smaller projects, discussing future prospects, or even academic advice as you navigate the university.
The point I’m trying to make is that you will continue to rely on your mentor, even when you’re no longer directly involved with them. They help you so much in the future, and that’s when you realize the true value of mentorship. It can be difficult to realize this because there is a lot left unsaid between an undergraduate and a professor, but the relationship you build with them is strong. And, of course, I cannot end a blog post without a few helpful tips on the topic at hand. So, PCUR readers, here’s a few tips to making the most of your mentorship opportunity:
Speak up and be confident. Yes, this person knows a lot. No, that does not mean you are ridiculous for asking that question. They’re here for you, and they’re smart enough to know you may not know. If anything, you might insult their intelligence by assuming they think you know everything.
Keep an eye out on your email, always. Honestly, in this day and age, I check my email a lot, but when you have a mentor, who perhaps only communicates via email, you should always keep that inbox in mind. The faster you communicate, the more communication that can happen!
Communicate when you feel yourself starting to get overwhelmed. This ties back to the confidence aspect. You should not take on so much of a project at fear of letting down your mentor. This person is here to guide you through difficult times or rough patches of the project. If you take it all on, you won’t be able to learn from them, and you risk losing out on valuable tips from an expert. Don’t be scared to let them know that you may not be able to handle it. They’ll respect you more for speaking up sooner.
At last, to understand the mentor/mentee relationship better, it’s best to join the other side: the mentor side. Look for opportunities to be a mentor. As undergraduates, we’ve now experienced just a bit more of life that we can share some of what we’ve learned with high schoolers or even college first-years as juniors/seniors. Examples of mentorship positions on campus include: Residential College Advisers, Peer Academic Advisers, Peer Health Advisers, Community Living Advisers, Bigs and Littles programs over multiple clubs, CA/OA/DDA leaders and Matriculate Mentors (a position in which you can help low-income high school students with college applications). There’s so much more, and once you become a mentor, you’ll ironically understand how to be a good mentee.
—Haya Elamir, Natural Sciences Correspondent
