As students return to college this fall and confront an uncertain world, they need faculty and staff mentors more than ever. At liberal arts colleges like my own, mentoring is part of our core value proposition. But at any college or university, we’ve got to double down on mentoring today’s students.
In the words of Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, we’re facing an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” on America’s campuses. This was Dr. Murthy’s message when he toured colleges last fall in a campaign to promote human connection. Few things, we know, connect people more than having a personal mentor.
National surveys tell us that college graduates consistently associate mentorship with the quality and value of their education. Having a faculty mentor who cares about a student can help them persist and succeed after college. A mentor who encourages students to pursue their goals and dreams can make all the difference.
Mentors can provide much-needed perspective, whether a student is learning the ropes, grappling with change, or feeling unseen. A mentor is vested in one’s long-term success as a person. Like any good coach, they both inspire and challenge.
While the benefits of being mentored are clear, the advantages of serving as a mentor are extraordinary. But this work needs to be cultivated and supported if it’s to succeed. For example, at Trinity College, we’re focusing on both sides of the equation. It’s a strategy that bridges faculty work and student learning.
On the faculty side, we’re building mentoring of students into faculty workloads. We’re giving faculty credit for mentoring students beyond the traditional classroom: from guiding individualized research experiences and hands-on learning in the community to advising student art performances, athletic teams, or student organizations. Because mentoring can be invisible and often uncompensated, it’s essential that we reward and celebrate it. Because mentoring can lead to burnout, it’s also important that we mentor the mentors.
On the student side, we’re investing in students as peer mentors — part of learning to lead in any field. We’re preparing more than 250 students every year to serve as peer mentors. They’re being trained, earning credit and getting paid. These students are serving as mentors in first-year seminars, writing and science programs, subject tutoring, foreign language labs, and programs to navigate the opportunities of college and beyond. Dozens of other mentors are working with students in K-12 schools, including the Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy. These experiences benefit mentors as much as mentees.
There’s so much talk these days of how AI can support mentoring, by providing information more efficiently and at scale. No doubt those possibilities should be explored. But what AI won’t be able to replace is relating authentically to another human being. Mentoring amplifies human connections in a way that technology just can’t duplicate.
The angst young people feel in a polarized and volatile world requires us to respond with a renewed focus on mentoring — complementing teaching and student services. Mentoring is highly personal. It humanizes the college experience and engages students interactively in their own learning. It builds student resilience in the face of turmoil.
It’s true that cultivating mentoring systems will entail resources and planning, but these investments promise to pay off in dividends. Connecting with a mentor is, after all, one of the things that defines a great student experience. According to a recent study, mentoring is a foundational skill, which even leads to higher earnings for college graduates.
There’s no question that teaching and learning in mentoring-focused ways are catalysts for connection and success. A mentor sees the potential in you and helps you actualize it. Despite all the skepticism about the value of a college education, ultimately, college is about this, too: developing one’s human potential.
Sonia Cardenas is vice president for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
