To develop a vision of the kind of mentor you would like to be, reflect on your days as a graduate student and answer candidly the following questions:

• What kind of mentoring did I receive?
• How did it compare to the mentoring received by students who were different from me in race, gender, age, ability, or family background?
• What did I find helpful and unhelpful about the mentoring I received?
• How well would the mentoring I received apply to the graduate student population today?
• How well did my mentors help me progress developmentally through my graduate program?
• How do the people and questions in my field today present challenges that differ from when I was in graduate school?
• How well did my mentors prepare me for my career?
• What kinds of mentoring did I not receive that would have been helpful to me?

The answers to these questions may help you to define the kind of mentor you want to be and identify the building blocks for developing productive relationships with graduate students. Ultimately, your vision will clarify the expectations you have about mentoring (Use Worksheet 1, Mentor expectations, to help you think about what you expect your protégé — and yourself — to gain from a mentoring relationship).