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The Mentor

I’ve been thinking a lot about mentors over the past few days, probably a result of seeing some old colleagues who shared the same mentor as I, connecting with some old students of mine, and seeing some of the mentoring within the Georgetown Scholarship Program.

Reflecting on earlier times, I realize how much in my life can be attributed to my own mentors. I was fortunate to have access to those more senior than I who helped me at various points in my career. Some were tough on me and called on me to do better than I was then doing. They taught me to perform at a higher level and convinced me that I could do it. They saw in me something I then didn’t see in myself. They made me better. For this type of mentor, I sometimes chafed at their methods. I thought them unjustly hypercritical. I hated their consistent criticism. But I stuck with them, by choice, because they simultaneously conveyed support for me during each bit of the critical commentary.

From other mentors I received different gifts. Early on, I worked in combinations of fields that weren’t supported by traditional disciplines. The early years of rejection by each of the constituent disciplines were hard for me to swallow. There were mentors, wiser and older than I, who told me at key moments that what I was doing had merit, that they believed in what I was doing, and that the important thing in life is to stay true to one’s vision. They bolstered me at low points, and that made all the difference for my life.

There were still others whose counsel I sought about whether a new set of ideas merited more development. They taught me clearer thinking skills. One was very good at forcing me to answer the question of whether, if all my ideas were perfectly true, the outcome would really be significant for the field or the society in general. They kept encouraging a focus on important problems, not just easily solvable ones.

A corollary lesson from such wise mentors was forcing me to think in series of work steps, not just a selection of the next step. They taught me that important contributions often have themes, cumulating knowledge in linked steps. Such contributions tend to have more lasting value because they have greater scope and the linked series generates more convincing conclusions.

All of these mentors worked their magic on me by first convincing me that they genuinely cared about me. They wanted me to succeed. The trust that I held for them then gave me the freedom to discuss with them my own uncertainties about my abilities. At times, all of us forget our strengths and concentrate on our own weaknesses. They often had to remind me of what I could do well.

In thinking about Georgetown students and faculty, my belief in the value of mentoring was shaped by such experiences with my mentors. They made me better in a way that I cannot imagine I could have done on my own.

Now that I’m older, I realize from their years of friendship that I may have given to them something too. My successes gave them pleasure; they shared what I experienced. They felt a part of my life.

Every Georgetown student deserves such a mentor, and I am convinced from meeting hundreds of Georgetown alumni that I have faculty colleagues who excel at the art of mentoring. Every Georgetown faculty member deserves such a mentor as they build their careers, and I want us to do all we can collectively to assure that that occurs.

Since both actors in a mentoring relationship can be enriched by the experience, I hope that all of us take time in our busy lives to engage in such relationships.

4 thoughts on “The Mentor

  1. Dr. Groves, thanks for the shout-out to GSP and to mentors! I’ve had many who’ve influenced my own life’s trajectory and their importance can’t be overstated.

    I think mentorship is one of the things Georgetown does best!

  2. Thank you, Dr. Groves, for your reflections. You have inspired me to write to a dear professor who mentored me during my undergraduate years at Vanderbilt University.

    As a staff member who recently spoke to our freshmen on the topic of mentorship for GUSA’s “What’s a Hoya?” initiative, I would like to add that, in addition to our faculty, many of Georgetown’s staff members and AAPs are also exemplary mentors to the students we all educate and encourage.

  3. Great thoughts on the crucial role of mentorship in education and life formation. I hope students will take advantage of the many alums who have signed up to be mentors thru the Hoya Gateway program. Those also can be mutually rewarding relationships.

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