What is mentoring and who is a mentor?
Mentoring is a supportive and caring relationship between a mentee – someone who is looking for advice and guidance – and a mentor – someone who has wisdom and experience to share.
Your mentor will be your trusted advisor, guide and friend – someone who you can turn to when you are looking for a path forward. Ideally a mentor is someone who is at arms-length and not an authority figure so that they can provide objective advice without judgement.
What mentoring is and is not
Here’s what you should – and should not – expect from your mentor.
Reasons to have a mentor and what you can gain
Many people join mentoring programs to get career and educational advice, but there is so much more to life and mentors can help with all of it. Mentors have wisdom to share about “adulting” (including funding your education!), dealing with setbacks and challenges, building soft-skills, motivation and goal setting. Here are some other important reasons to have a mentor:
- You can share anything with your mentor without any fear of consequences, judgement, or bias.
- After all, your conversations will be confidential.
- The more you share with your mentor about your strengths and passions, the better their advice and support will be.
- So, you have absolutely NOTHING TO LOSE – and everything to gain – by participating in this program.
Hear from mentees in other programs about why they chose to have a mentor and what they gained from their mentor.
Video: What’s the point of this program?
Mentoring at ReMBC
Why is it important for students to have mentors?
Mentors are important at every stage in life, but research has shown that having a mentor during important life-transitions, like the transition out of high school or into a professional program, is especially impactful. Choosing a program and career are huge life-decisions that require a lot of preparation and planning. A mentor can help you stay on track by making sure you don’t miss any requirements, providing tips on succeeding in school (and life!), and can help keep you motivated. If you make a mistake, your mentor can point you in the right direction again and provide some other options. Your mentor will provide advice that’s personalized to your situation and will be your personal cheer-leader.
Why are our mentors students?
Who better to give advice to students than other students? Our mentors are your “near-peers”, which means they are a couple years ahead of you in school. That means that they understand what you are going through and can provide advice and information that is up-to-date and accurate. Best of all, they are not an authority figure, like a teacher, parent, coach or work-supervisor, so your relationship with them will be low-stakes and low-pressure. Think of your mentor as a pen-pal who is a few years older than you.
Why rural?
We know that rural living can mean travelling long distances to visit colleges and universities, so it can be hard to understand what these places are like. That’s why we bring the college and university experience to YOU by connecting you with mentors who are current college and university students throughout BC. Get your questions answered, along with the personalized advice and information you need, without ever leaving your town – or even your couch!