Comments on: Can you offer some advice on how to find a mentor? http://cunyba.gc.cuny.edu/2008/04/23/can-you-offer-some-advice-on-how-to-find-a-mentor/ The official blog of The CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:42:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: Diane Ingino http://cunyba.gc.cuny.edu/2008/04/23/can-you-offer-some-advice-on-how-to-find-a-mentor/#comment-219 Diane Ingino Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:11:27 +0000 http://cunyba.gc.cuny.edu/?p=133#comment-219 These are all great suggestions. I found my Mentors by first searching through the departmental websites at the campuses where I would be taking most of my classes for each of my AOCs. I read all the bios and then tried to gauge whose experiences could connect somehow to my interests. I also Googled them and looked them up on one of those student-rate-your-professor websites (I take those reviews with a grain of salt but sometimes they do offer interesting insights). Then I sent them emails and set up meetings. It took a while to get meetings with them because my work schedule conflicted with their office hours -- but I asked if they would even be able to meet for coffee on one of my days off. I was lucky with both -- I had coincidentally emailed her one day when she had gone to her office unexpectedly, so she told me to drop by. There was no line waiting for her when I got there! The other Professor invited me to meet her outside of school. I'm very happy with how it turned out - I have two distinct Areas of Concentration and two Mentors who had valuable information for me even at our first meetings. One of my Mentors has mentored CUNY BA students many times before, and the other is a first-timer. Another suggestion: Get on email lists or visit blogs for the department you are interested in to receive notification of any events or get-togethers they might sponsor, and email the department chair or secretary and find out if you can attend. Going to something like that could lead to meeting professors in person. These are all great suggestions. I found my Mentors by first searching through the departmental websites at the campuses where I would be taking most of my classes for each of my AOCs. I read all the bios and then tried to gauge whose experiences could connect somehow to my interests. I also Googled them and looked them up on one of those student-rate-your-professor websites (I take those reviews with a grain of salt but sometimes they do offer interesting insights). Then I sent them emails and set up meetings.

It took a while to get meetings with them because my work schedule conflicted with their office hours — but I asked if they would even be able to meet for coffee on one of my days off. I was lucky with both — I had coincidentally emailed her one day when she had gone to her office unexpectedly, so she told me to drop by. There was no line waiting for her when I got there! The other Professor invited me to meet her outside of school. I’m very happy with how it turned out - I have two distinct Areas of Concentration and two Mentors who had valuable information for me even at our first meetings. One of my Mentors has mentored CUNY BA students many times before, and the other is a first-timer.

Another suggestion: Get on email lists or visit blogs for the department you are interested in to receive notification of any events or get-togethers they might sponsor, and email the department chair or secretary and find out if you can attend. Going to something like that could lead to meeting professors in person.

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