Vincent Knox is a Student Coordinator for the University Y's Collegiate Achievers program. He took some time to answer these questions about the role mentoring has played in his life.
How are you a mentor?
I am currently one of 4 coordinators for the University Y’s Collegiate Achievers Program. As a coordinator I have the responsibility of providing support for the students in the program no matter if it’s academic or personal support. This responsibility even entails guiding students to more resources, because I may not be able to help them as much as someone else on a particular matter.
What do you value most about being a mentor?
I really enjoy building the relationships and the community we have at the UY. I think this is a really undervalued part in many aspects of our lives. The connections you make with people are going to be the things that stick with you over the years.
What is the most important quality of being a mentor?
I think a mentor has to be willing to help someone and must take a personal interest in seeing that their mentee reaches their goals.
Did you have a mentor?
When I think back I can’t say that I really had a mentor. I did have teachers, coaches and family friends who were able to help me and guide me at times, but I can’t say that there was one person who consistently there to help me. It was more like a number of people helping me here and there a long the way.
What have you learned from them?
I have learned that a relationship between a mentor and their mentee is a give and take relationship. It’s not just about the mentor coaching someone and showing them the way. The mentee is responsible for doing the bulk of the work. That is part of the learning process. A mentor is responsible for trying to assist in anyway that they can and hopefully motivating the person in the process.