Mentoring is about relationship

Before he departs to fight in the Trojan War, Odysseus entrusts his son, Telemachus, to the care of his friend and counselor, Mentor. While the origin of the word may have fallen into oblivion, the concept of mentorship is ubiquitous. Amid a plenitude of how-to-mentor books, Cultivating Mentors stands out because of its focus: mentorship in the context of Christian higher education. The book’s seven chapters provide a detailed picture of the current generation of college students and lay out vocational and mentorship principles based on the Christian tradition.

While most of the chapters approach mentoring from practical and theoretical angles, Beck Taylor’s essay is a testimony to the power of mentoring. Taylor, the president of Samford University, stresses the impact his mentors have had on his academic and professional life, from his undergraduate years at Baylor University to his graduate studies and his life as a professor and administrator. For him, mentoring is a two-way street: mentors share their knowledge and advice with younger colleagues, while they “often benefit from the renewed energy and fresh perspectives of their mentees, thereby adding to their own well-being and sense of flourishing.”

In Tim Elmore’s contribution, the leadership consultant lists this experience, which he calls “reverse mentoring,” as one of three important strategies college administrators can use in coaching students. The other two are “organic or ‘spot’ mentoring” and “organized mentoring.” Organic mentoring happens when administrators engage spontaneously with students in public places, such as the dining hall. These encounters can become micro-mentorship lessons for students. Organized mentoring, on the other hand, takes place in regular meetings over the course of a semester or academic year. In Elmore’s experience, both organic and organized mentoring help meet the spiritual, emotional, and academic needs of Christian college students.