1 Mentoring Overview

1.1 History & Definition

“Mentor” originated from Homer’s Odyssey. When Odysseus was leaving to fight in the Trojan War he appointed a guardian named Mentor to attend to his home. During the ten years Odysseus was away at War, Mentor acted as teacher, adviser, friend and surrogate father to Odysseus’ son Telemachus. Since, the meaning of the word “Mentor” has evolved to describe a person that facilitates personal and professional growth in an individual by sharing knowledge and insight that have been learned through the years. Mentoring is a relationship. In short, mentoring is a relationship between two individuals of different levels of experience, one senior and one junior in experience, that focuses on advancing professional and personal development. Mentoring is about information sharing and learning through and with another person. From Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter to Socrates and Plato to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker, it is clear mentoring relationships come in all shapes and sizes. Because of individual differences no two mentoring relationships are alike, but must all be based on mutual trust, respect and integrity.

1.2 Highlights

The I-O Psych. Mentor Program is designed to facilitate the sharing of knowledge between those with experience (our second-year students) and those who are still developing their professional identities (our first-year students).

1.3 Background

The Montclair State University Industrial and Organizational Psychology Graduate Program is proud to offer a Student Mentor Program for students in their first year of graduate school. Eligible applicants are matched with a second-year mentor who can provide extracurricular support and share first-hand knowledge about the I-O profession.

1.4 Mission Statement

Our mentor program is dedicated to creating an environment that fosters growth, development and engagement of first year I-O students to become successful both academically and socially during graduate school.

  • Development
  • Engagement
  • Support
  • Social

1.5 Structure

  • The Program targets:
    1. Second-year students at the graduate level
    2. First-year students at the graduate level
  • Depending on the number of students at the second-year level interested in the program, more than one student may be paired with each mentor.
  • Students will be notified via email once the pairing process is complete.
  • All students are encouraged to attend the I-O Psych. Program Orientation held on the MSU campus in September.
  • Communications between mentors and proteges can be conducted in person, by phone calls, video chats, emails, etc.
  • Our expectation is that proteges will contact their mentor at least once a month, averaging a suggested one hour of communication per month for the duration of their mentoring relationship
    • Protégé are expected to take the initiative in establishing the first meeting with their mentor.
    • Subsequent meetings are agreed upon between the student and the mentor.
    • All participants will be surveyed in the Fall and Spring semesters. Surveys will consist of…to evaluate the effectiveness of the relationship and provide feedback for program improvements.