What Is a Mentor?
Apply to Become a Mentor
Mentor Programs and ResourcesYour own life experiences in learning and working with others qualifies you to be a mentor. The best mentors are people whose own enthusiasm for their work and recreation is so contagious that they inspire others just by doing what they enjoy most. Sharing your own interests with a young person is the beginning of mentoring. However, the object of mentoring is to encourage the total growth of a younger, less experienced person whose needs and interests are the mentor's primary consideration. What you do and how you do it will depend on your mentee (young person).
The following are characteristics of a mentor:
Role Model
- Provides a model for civil and appropriate behavior and attitudes
- A person that the youth admires or wants to be like
- Has qualities/values that the youth desires for self.
- Expands the youth's perspective and definition of manhood/womanhood
Teacher
- Helps youth to acquire knowledge, information, or skills
- Shows youth how to do things
- Participates with youth in learning new things
Companion
- Enjoys doing things with youth
- Shares interests and experiences with youth
- Spends time talking with and listening to youth
Support
- Boosts youth's self-esteem
- Conveys warm caring about youth as a person
- Gives support to youth's efforts
- Listens to youth's ideas and concerns
- Expresses believe in youth's abilities
Resource
- Provides opportunities to try new things
- Introduces youth to new people, places, interests, or ideas
- Encourages youth to approach other people as resources
- Suggests new sources of information