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MyNRMN’s MyMentor: A Venture to Mentoring Virtually

By April 23, 2020No Comments

 

Wow – so this is it.  This is our new, hopefully temporary, reality.  No physical contact outside of the household, new adorable “coworkers,” and an array of creative solutions for masks.  However, what hasn’t changed is our needs.  We still need food, we still need exercise, and we still need to keep moving forward as well as possible.

 

While this is a time to mitigate stress and focus on health, procrastination, lacking a purpose, and the fear of falling behind can create additional stress in an already abstract time in our lives.  Although many of us cannot achieve that much-needed serotonin boost from physical contact, we can still gain a boost from seeing a friendly face, whether it’s a familiar face or a new one.

 

Many may think that taking on a new mentoring connection right now is fruitless because you’re unable to work on research and progress as you were a month ago.  But this is where NRMN’s MyMentor platform is different from other mentoring outlets:  the MyMentor focus is on culturally aware mentoring and helping individuals grow as people.  I can only assume that there are others out there like me who are also getting a little too introspective in their isolations.  Use MyMentor as a means to get out of your head and gain new perspectives.  Your sanity will thank you!

 

Whether you’re a mentor or a mentee, if you’re hesitant to start a new mentoring connection because you don’t know what to expect, there’s no need to worry.  Mentees select their preferred Path (Undergraduate, Post Baccalaureate, Graduate, Post Doc, or Jr. Faculty) and the both the mentor and mentee are provided discussion prompts to guide them through topics, both personal and professional.  The philosophy behind MyMentor is to develop a person’s confidence and sense of identity in order to help them move forward in whatever trajectory they choose.  The prompts are intended to help both the mentee and mentor open up so that they can each grow throughout the duration of the connection.

 

Most connections take approximately 30 minutes per week over the span of 4-5 months, but this is all flexible depending upon the needs of each individual connection.  Additionally, each discussion prompt is customizable so that a mentoring connection can specify exactly what they’re hoping to achieve.  Mentors and mentees also have the option to create their own discussion prompts and goals to facilitate their needs.

 

If you’re still feeling trepidatious about starting a mentoring connection, please reach out and let us know.  We would be happy to provide additional insight or even show you the ins and outs of a connection.  The most important thing right now is to stay connected, and we’re here to help in any way we can.

 

Written By: Katie Stinson, MLIS

 

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