I’ve been asked to give a talk this fall about my mentoring. The purpose of this blog is to delve more deeply into my mentoring style and philosophy. I’m hoping that folks that read the blog will interact with me about mentoring and their own thoughts.
In 2011 I gave a TEDxABQ talk about mentoring. You can view it here:
This talk grew out of my thoughts about my failing physics in college as an undergraduate. I was too young and naive at the time to recognize that it wasn’t a matter of how smart I was, but how much I was studying. This failure caused me to abandon science and my desire to be a biospeleologist–kind of a dumb decision, but there you have it. That was 1967. At the time, I saw no other option than to not pursue a career in science, for which one must pass physics. I never forgot that dream, but it was the help of two mentors at the University of New Mexico, that boosted my confidence and guided my fulfilling my dream to study cave life 20 years after that initial failure.
Why did those two professors make such a difference? The essential thing was that they believed that I could do it and saw the potential in me. It seems so clear in retrospect, but it was anything but when I first started back to school. I remember taking my undergraduate requirements back in the mid-1980s. Biology was fun and I love inorganic chemistry. But then came the dreaded math and physics. Luckily you have to take a math placement test and after 20 years of no math I was placed in bonehead algebra. Physics was another matter. I still remember pounding the table in frustration over trying to understand the normal force. What made the difference–two math and science nerds, Jim and Kenneth. This stuff was second nature to them–they loved it! AND, more importantly, they could think of other ways to explain the concepts to me. First lesson–not everyone thinks the same way. And, not everyone is good at explaining things. So, lesson number one: your chosen mentor needs insight into why something doesn’t make sense to you and how to change the focus slightly so that it crystallizes for you.
That’s it for today. More soon!
Dr. Di, the proud biospeleologist 🙂
Nice first post! I am happy to have you as a mentor that is actually interested in mentoring and teaching about it. Hope for a new post soon.
I agree that mentoring is about believing in someone, especially both their potentislllal and self-worth. Until we look at success differently, there will be so much lost potential due to denial of self-worth. Thank you for starting this blog. This has been one of my passions.
Hi Dr. Di,
Dr. C is looking forward to more of your posts! I might even chime in!
I think the interdisciplinary context of your lab intersects with your acceptance in powerful ways. It is endemic to interdisciplinary contexts that everyone is sometimes a bit of a novice and sometimes an expert. By looking at each student—and even a learning scientist—as bringing a valuable lens for finding the story in the data, you honor the differing experiences and expertise members bring.