UPlift: UPCEA Mentorship Experience
Mentorship Has Powerful Benefits
A very important goal for UPCEA is establishing equity in the field of higher education by providing unique member experiences and support to help our members navigate their careers. Connecting UPCEA members with leaders in the higher education community helps develop professional relationships for personal growth and career success through:
- Growing your network
- Gaining insights
- Receiving feedback
- Learning new skills
Participants of the program, both mentors and mentees, have found it to be a highly valuable and enjoyable experience. Many of our program participants plan to continue their mentoring relationships even after their six-month program period ended.
UPCEA Members: Become a Mentor or Mentee!
Join us for the 2024 session, which will run from March 1, 2024 through the end of August! See the full timeline.
For more details, view the informational webinar below.
UPlift Informational Webinar
December 14, 2023, 3:00-4:00 PM ET
"I love mentoring relationships for the networking and community it helps create. This was the first time I decided that I would raise my hand as a mentor and I am so glad I did!" Past Mentor Participant
I'm Interested in Mentorship!
Mentor/Mentee Interest Form
If you would like to be part of this mentorship experience, please complete and submit the interest form below. We highly recommend that you view the informational webinar recording in advance of completing this form.
Become a Mentor
You may not think that you have much to offer at this stage of your career, but engaging with someone who has had an entirely different background can be immensely rewarding for both of you. Mentors can exert a positive influence on the lives of others, which can lead to increased career opportunities for that person.
What does a mentor do?
- Share your experience as a colleague and working professional
- Offer insight and suggest the best way to achieve their goals
- Motivate mentees to be the best version of themself
- Serve as a trusted peer within their career
- Share opportunities such as leadership trainings, webinars, or professional events
- Give tips on organization, career nuances, and practical life experiences
- Help mentee(s) with balancing work and life
Mentoring others will also help you enhance your own leadership skills. When you teach someone, you truly become a master on that subject. You not only reinforce valuable leadership lessons, but you also question and refine your own thinking and approaches.
Mentoring Roles
Mentors will be trained to provide support to their mentee(s) on professional, personal, and workplace matters. As a mentor you will focus on your mentee’s total development and facilitate their growth by:
- Coaching on a specific issue(s)
- Teaching a particular skill(s)
- Sharing resources and networks
- Logging mentor/mentee conversations
- Challenging mentees to move beyond their comfort zone
- Creating a safe learning environment for taking risks and learning from mistakes
Help shape the leaders of tomorrow.
Become a mentor today.
"It was so satisfying to have a chance to develop this relationship with my mentee. It taught me a lot as well about setting up appropriate professional development for newly emerging leaders." Past Mentor Participant
Mentoring Benefits & Expectations
Mentoring is a win/win. Both the mentor and the mentee gain considerable benefits from such a professional relationship. As a mentor, you will:
The benefits of mentoring are a win/win:
- Change someone’s life in a positive way
- Help others achieve personal career gains
- Gain a new perspective
- Enhance your leadership and communications skills
- Help shape the leaders of tomorrow
- Gain a sense of community with authentic relationships
- Deepen your appreciation for the value you have to offer
Mentoring expectations:
- Communicate at least once a month
- Talk via in person, text, phone, and/or video (you decide!)
- Log conversations and/or flags in the MC platform
"I had the fortunate opportunity to mentor two individuals this year. I hadn't been involved in a structured mentoring program like this before, but UPCEA (along with Mentor Collective) made it easy to get started and stay on track.
It felt great to "pass on" some of what so many others have poured into me over the years."
Bob Stine, Dean, College of Continuing and Professional Studies, University of Minnesota
"Being a mentor is such a rewarding experience for both parties. What we do in higher education is so unique, it's wonderful to have an outlet to share these experiences and support others." Susan Roth, Executive Director, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Become a Mentee
As a mentee, you will gain knowledge from the expertise of your mentor, receiving valuable feedback in key areas, such as communications, interpersonal relationships, technical abilities, change management and leadership skills. You may develop a sharper focus, learn relevant skills and gain a trusted knowledge source and confidant in the higher education space.
Mentee benefits:
- Gain from the mentor’s expertise & experience
- Receive knowledge & support for career growth
- Develop a sharper focus on what is needed to grow professionally within the institution
- Learn specific skills relevant for personal & professional growth
- Receive motivation toward achieving your professional goals
- Network with a more influential employee or professional
- Gain a friendly ear with which to share successes as well as frustrations
- Build your leadership skills
As a mentee, you may also acquire knowledge about the institution’s culture and nuances that can be critical for success. This could result in adapting more quickly to the institution’s culture and your role in it.
Mentee Expectations
- Willingness to learn: Communicate desired goals
- Dedication: Work on personal and professional growth
- Transparency: Bring questions, confusions, concerns, and problems. But also bring successes, alternatives, and ideas.
- Clarity: Be clear what you need, and if an activity or suggestion isn’t of interest, say so
- Openness: Be open to discussions and constructive alternative viewpoints
"The UPCEA mentorship program was so transformational. My mentor helped me build the confidence to consider a promotion sooner than I was anticipating, so I applied for a promotion and got the job!" UPLift Program Mentee
Mentorship Experience Timeline & Key Dates
December 14, 2023 - Informational Webinar
January 19, 2024 - Deadline to Complete Interest Form
January 25, 2024 - Onboarding for Mentors & Mentees
February 23, 2024 - Training for Mentors & Mentees
March 1, 2024 - Mentors and Mentees notified of their mentor/mentee match and the Mentoring Phase begins!
March 2023 (Date TBA) - Meet & Greet at UPCEA Annual Conference (optional)
June 2024 - Mid-Cycle Virtual Connect (networking)
End of August - Mentoring Phase ends
If you would like to be part of the UPCEA 2024 UPlift 6-month mentorship experience, please complete the 2024 UPlift Interest Form.
Mentorship Advisory Board
UPCEA
- Amy Heitzman
Deputy Chief Executive Officer & Chief Learning Officer - Kathleen Ives
Senior Vice President, Engagement - Jordan DiMaggio
Vice President, Policy and Digital Strategy - Melissa Peraino
Director of Content Development and Volunteer Leader Management - Jean Simmons
Director of Marketing
Advisory Board Members
- Dawn Coder, Penn State University
- Kristin Hrynczuk, Western Michigan University
- Laurel Hogue, University of Central Missouri
- Beth Romanski, Maryland University of Integrative Health
UPCEA has partnered with Mentor Collective to offer UPCEA members a more robust peer mentorship experience!
About the UPCEA Mentorship Pilot Program
The initial six-month Mentorship Pilot Program was launched in early 2022 and was a great success! The program was limited to twenty pairings as we explored and learned together. Participants expressed overwhelmingly positive sentiments and reactions about their experiences. The success of the pilot helped us to gauge the interest and value of such a program with our members. We are excited with the results and have continued to offer the UPlift Mentorship Experience for our members with another cohort that just wrapped up in 2023.
"It was a fantastic experience. I went into the relationship with certain goals in mind and finished it with so much more than I expected. My primary purpose in applying to UPlift was to grow in my job but I feel like I've grown in many aspects of my life personally and professionally thanks to the advice and support my mentor provided." UPLift Mentoring Pilot Program Mentee
If you have questions or would like more details, please contact us at [email protected].