Why You Should Become a Mentee: A Brief Narrative On a Newfound Friendship, Opportunities, and Research

The following post was written by Andrew Millin, NACADA Region 2 2016-2017 Mentee and Program Coordinator, Medical Office Assistant Certificate of Proficiency at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, NJ.  To learn more about the Region 2 Mentoring Program, read Jonathan May's blogpost from Monday, March 7th, which covered the perks of becoming a mentor/mentee and how to sign up for the 2017-2018 cohort. 

My friend Shawna, a colleague of mine who was enrolled with me in the M.S.Ed. in Higher Education program at the University of Pennsylvania, first told me about NACADA in February 2016 when we were both graduate students.  As an aspiring academic advisor, and that NACADA is the Global Community for Academic Advising, I did not hesitate to sign up.  After subsequently registering for our region's conference, I received an email from Nina Buchanan, the previous Mentoring Program Coordinator, on how to apply to be a mentee.  As an extrovert, someone who enjoys building relationships, and someone who prioritizes professional development, I did, and originally I was not selected.  However, at the conference, Nina met me personally.  Hours later was when she came up to be out of nowhere letting me know that I had a mentor.

Kuhn & Palak (2006) state that mentoring programs, while effective, have the tendency to provide aesthetic caring in lieu of authentic caring, and that authentic mentoring relationships are created through the consent and desire of both parties.  Both Gavin & I had the same expectations in mind for our mentorship.  We wanted to chat via phone and text multiple times per week while intentionally meeting in person for a meal on a biweekly basis.  We also wanted to listen to one another and problem solve to help one another grow personally and professionally inside and outside of the advisement space.  That, in tandem with our similar educational goals, locations, and personalities, contributed to both of us being able to say that we are now close friends, in addition to our other roles as colleague, mentor, and mentee.

Meister & Willyerd (2010) detail how millennials will be happy to overachieve for a colleague if they are kept engaged and the practice of reverse mentoring.  Through Gavin's engagement, I felt motivated to want to reach out to him to ask for counsel on additional NACADA and professional development opportunities I could pursue.  The results have been multifold, including additional mentors I keep in touch with on a consistent basis, the opportunity to co-present a concurrent session on academic advisor mentor-mentee relationships at the upcoming conference in Pittsburgh, and being able to serve on the conference committee for next year's conference in Dover as the Selection Chair alongside Gavin who will be the Proposals Chair.

It is a privilege and I am thankful for being able to speak into Gavin's life, and for Gavin to speak in mind.  If you want to develop your professional development, relationships, and support as an aspiring or current academic advising professional, I recommend without hesitation that you utilize our region's mentoring program as a vehicle toward these pursuits.  To #NACADAburgh and beyond!

Gavin Farber & Andrew Millin
NACADA Region 2 2016-2017 Mentor & Mentee Pair