Finding Mentors at Barnard
Barnard is everything you imagine it to be – a supportive environment, academic challenging, full of the resources to help you succeed, and not to mention, located in the greatest city in the world. These features are incredible, but can also feel overwhelming to navigate or tough to discover by yourself or with friends who are also new to experiencing Barnard. Luckily, a few supportive friends and faculty members who have a year or two (or 10!) at Barnard under their belts can help to make all the difference! Utilizing your charm, your wit, and some of my tips below, you can create a network of mentors to turn to if you have any questions or need advice:
Redefine Your Idea of a Mentor: When thinking of a mentor, ideas of someone old and wise and grandparent-y might come to mind. This can certainly be the case, as mentors come in all forms, but know that a number of my mentors happen to be in the year above me or a mere 10 years older than me. A mentor can be the captain of the club you’re a part of or a TA in your favorite course, just your work supervisor or your professors with decades of experience. In fact, you are probably someone’s mentor already, whether to your younger siblings or to other students who look up to you at your current school. Expand your idea of who/what a mentor is and you might already find a few around you. At Barnard, a mentor could be the person who sits next to you in Organic Chemistry and really understands what’s going on or the junior who always offers help in picking courses in the major you’re interested in.
Look Around Your Hobbies: Sometimes seeking a mentor doesn’t require going beyond what you already know! Take account of your hobbies, interests, or passions and start there! Look around and find someone with traits or skills that you admire and introduce yourself. Think of your classes, your friends, your clubs or teams -- who are the people in spaces who you look up too? Who are the people with a story similar to yours? Mentors are in more places than you might think and are in far more casual settings at Barnard! Just being in the spaces and places that you enjoy at Barnard could lead you to find a mentor with ease!
Be Honest & Be Transparent: When looking for a mentor, be honest with yourself -- are you looking for a mentor or for a friend? If your mentor-in-mind is a person who is someone who you genuinely want to be friends with, then don’t think of the relationships as a mentor-mentee process, but rather a budding friendship! Be you and make a mutual effort to get to know your future friend. If the person is someone you solely want to be a mentor and show you the ropes, be transparent with your intentions and ask them upfront. A simple, “I think you’re fantastic at X and would love to know more about how you got that way. Would you have some time to share your insight?” will be much easier than waiting for a possible mentor to notice you. I can stay with full honesty and from experience that if a Barnard community member has the bandwidth, they will say yes to talking with you and answer any questions or give any needed advice.
Overall, the hardest aspect of finding a mentor is taking that first step and putting yourself out into the void… only to realize that the void is a community of Barnard folks who are ready and willing to meet and help you. Make the first step and you’ll soon notice how that’s the only step you had to take alone!
-Emily Ndiokho ‘22