Tom recently posted about graduate students mentoring undergrads at Johns Hopkins. Graduate school offers many opportunities to mentor, whether that means chatting with your undergraduate students during office hours or introducing new graduate students to your department. Here are a few things I’ve learned about mentoring during graduate school.
1. Treat the person you’re mentoring as a less-experienced peer.

One of the things that most impresses me about my own mentors is how well they do this. They show respect for my ideas and projects, but they also offer wisdom about areas where they have more experience.
One of the best things you can do for someone you’re mentoring is to communicate your respect for their work, and within that context explain things that person may not know yet. When I’m open to learning from the knowledge and experience of those I’m mentoring, I’m more able to pass on my knowledge in turn. [Read more…] about The Art of Mentoring as a Graduate Student