Mentorship for Student Success Services

Abstract

As a graduate student, I thought of librarian mentorship as a formalized process that typically occurs while the mentee is completing the Master of Library Science degree. I was not assigned a mentor, so I decided to pursue mentorship on my own. This mentoring relationship began informally, but over time, it evolved to be more formal. I thought my mentorship would end once I graduated, but I was pleasantly surprised when my mentoring relationship continued past graduation. My mentor serves as an advocate, counselor, and role model for me. I am now an academic librarian, and my mentor advises me on how to support students and faculty. Student success endeavors have increasingly become a focus and responsibility of many librarians. I have found myself working with students who are first-generation college students, are at various stages of their academic careers, and are at different levels of proficiency utilizing library resources. In a way, I am mentoring students as my mentor has mentored me. Through working with them, I am learning what they need and how to aid in their collegiate success. Sometimes this success goes beyond academics and crosses over into social needs, as well. Some students need assistance with adjusting to college life both academically and socially. Experienced students seek me out to discuss how various events in their lives are affecting their academics and looking for resources to deal with their trials. As a librarian, I am aware of resources around campus, and I know how to develop relationships with campus resources and to help others do the same. These are skills that are not taught in library school. It takes mentorship and guidance to practically apply what I learned in library school as well as the soft skills needed to grow in my career and to help students to do the same.