Excuse me, mentor?

Truth is, there is no way I could have made it into and through higher education without all of my mentors both in and out of school. Solely based on my own experiences,  my mentors have helped guide my ideas, thoughts and choices regarding many areas of my life.

Some of these areas include: my educational path, career planning, managing family life, and pursuing intellectual growth. 

It wasn't until I became an academic mentor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that I understood the importance of creating a team of players (or mentors) that help guide themselves and others throughout their academic endeavors and often beyond. Becoming a mentor taught me how to build cross-generational/cultural relationships with other students while building trust and finding common interests. My greatest advice is to start small.

In its simplest form, mentoring allows for the mentee(s) to be listened to. I've come to find it is much easier to give advice than it is to sit and listen. For those of you who are looking for a mentor I would first encourage you to list the people in your life who already guide you to become the best version of yourself. I'll bet you'll find at least one person you would consider to be a "mentor" to you. If you are lucky you'll find that you have multiple mentors in many different areas of your life.

As you begin to reflect I would encourage you to thank those mentors and locate a person or two to mentor yourself and watch as your relationships grow and flourish.