The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2022 - 14

BECOMING A MENTOR:
Giving Back and Leveling Up
Being a mentor is an excellent way to enrich your own practice, give back
to the community, and play a part in the development of the profession.
Read on to learn more about mentoring and how you can get started!
By Rachel E. Herring and
Doug Bowen-Bailey
ake a moment to
reflect on the course
of your education
and career, and on the
people who were involved
in significant moments
along the way. If you were
asked to name one, two, or
five people whose support,
guidance, and wisdom were
crucial to your learning and
development, who would
appear on that list? Although
the relationship between
you and those people may or
may not have been formal
or structured, it's likely
that you were involved in a
mentoring relationship.
You may be at a point
in your career where you
would like to give back
to the community and
T
profession by taking on such
a role. Being a mentor is an
excellent way to enrich your
own practice while playing
a part in the development of
the profession. So, how do
you go about doing this? In
the following, we'll introduce
you to a range of formats
and types of mentoring
relationships and share
suggestions for getting
involved.
What Is Mentoring?
You've probably heard the
word " mentor " used many
times without thinking too
much about what it means.
Merriam-Webster defines a
mentor as " someone who
teaches or gives help and
14 The ATA Chronicle | March/April 2022
advice to a less experienced
and often younger person. " 1
The fact is that this label can
be applied to a wide range of
relationships and situations.
There isn't one fixed
definition or description
of what a mentor " is " or
" does. " Mentoring can range
from very informal and
unstructured to very formal
and structured. It can be an
officially or institutionally
facilitated connection, or it
can form organically. It can
be limited in terms of time
and scope, or it can be longlasting
and wide-ranging.
It can occur one-on-one
or in groups. It can involve
working with students,
newly-minted professionals,
or experienced colleagues
looking for guidance in a
specific area. A person can
have one mentor or many.
The National Consortium
of Interpreter Education
Centers defines mentorship
as follows:
" A mentorship is a
supportive relationship
established between
two or more individuals
where knowledge,
skills, and experience
are shared. The mentee
is someone seeking
guidance in developing
specific competencies,
self-awareness, and skills
in early intervention.
The mentor is a person
who has expertise in the
areas of need identified
by the mentee and is able
to share their wisdom
in a nurturing way. The
mentorship established
between two or more
individuals is unique
to their needs,
personality, learning
styles, expectations,
and experiences.
www.atanet.org
http://www.atanet.org
The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2022
