​Mentorship that matters

As deadlines for summer internships, DukeEngage applications and registration for spring semester classes approach, students are beginning to consider all their choices in the next round of crafting their undergraduate experience—or their first round of life after graduation for our seniors. In any of these decisions, authentic mentorship from peers, upperclassmen, professors and advisors is vital to navigating the abundance of opportunities and choices we have at Duke. Today, we offer suggestions for strengthening mentorship relationships at Duke and encouraging a culture of introspection for students caught up in just getting by.

Many formalized avenues of mentorship come from the University already with a variety of sources for a variety of needs. Undergraduates have access to academic deans who can help with big picture decisions and connections to departmental resources. Professors serve as great mentors in thinking about how lessons in the classroom can translate into real world applications and professions. Tutors can assist undergraduates struggling with tackling challenges in academic coursework. Residential Assistants help first-years evaluate choices in social and residential living following life on East Campus. Beyond these few examples are the Peer Advisors, engineer mentors, Directors of Academic Engagement and others who serve to be resources for students.

The diversity of hurdles presented to Duke students provides grounds for this range of mentors, but we do find a few gaps to be filled. A natural bridge to build would be programming between our undergraduate and graduate programs. Between Fuqua, Sanford and our other distinguished graduate schools, we have a huge number of graduate students and professors who should be able to enter into directories or an organization to connect with similarly interested undergraduate students. Propelling students forward in this respect can give direction and broader vision to their undergraduate studies. Similarly, there is merit in setting up a mentorship system between upperclassmen who are more settled into their post-graduation plans and professionals or graduate students five or even ten years ahead of them in their field.

Closer to home, undergraduate advising was changed this year when the Trinity dean model was revamped to ensure that assignment of an academic dean was maintained through all four years. We have previously written that this move was a step forward in ensuring that undergraduates have someone who has a full knowledge of their academic development throughout their Duke career. In our view, these deans and our academic advisors are akin to a primary care center that keeps a patient history and is best suited for recommending students to specialists for exploration and consideration of more nuanced interests. In these views, we hope mentorship at Duke will center on being both fully informed of a student’s history and development but also deep in taking that student far along in where their paths may lead.

A key advisor in this respect are the Directors of Academic Engagement in the Academic Advising Center. Students have overwhelmingly found their advice to be insightful, but we fear not enough students make the choice to seek out mentorship. From the classroom to extracurricular, service-learning, internships and research experiences, students have to realize how many different aspects of Duke life they can do better in if they only reach out and ask what is out there to do. It is neither weakness nor ignorance that compels somebody to seek advising and mentorship but rather a drive for success and building a better Duke experience.

The Editorial Board did not reach quorum for this editorial.