Overview
Graduate students and mature part-time undergraduate students at the University of Toronto told us that they were looking for more opportunities to work with mentors. As coincidence would have it, Hart House has a wealth of accomplished, engaged and generous alumni, friends and senior members with a wide variety of life experiences who welcome the chance to develop mutually-rewarding one-on-one mentor-mentee relationships with graduate and mature students. We put two and two together and developed the Hart House Mentorship Program. This program involves approximately one hundred (100) matched pairs.
What Makes This Program Unique?
In keeping with the spirit and tradition of Hart House – where broad, holistic and lifelong education has been our commitment to students for over a century—the Hart House Mentorship Program matches mentors and mentees on the basis of both their professional ambitions AND their personal priorities, interests and passions. In many cases, mentees will be matched with mentors who have similar interests but are in completely different career fields.
Details of the Program
- The mentorship program will run from September to April. Of course, participants are welcome to extend their mentor/mentee relationship beyond this timeframe if they'd like.
- Each mentor/mentee match will decide together how often they would like to meet, but a minimum of three (3) meetings during the school year are strongly recommended (can be in-person, online or phone meetings.)
- Hart House will host an orientation event for all mentors and mentees to officially “launch” this program in the fall.
- Participants will receive special invitations to additional Hart House events throughout the year including events with a networking focus.
Being a Student Mentee
Eligibility:
If you are either a U of T graduate student or a mature part-time undergraduate (at least 2 years older than your cohort) and will be enrolled in courses starting in the Fall of 2022, then you are eligible to apply.
There are many benefits to be gained through your participation. They include:
- Expanding your professional and personal networks;
- Discovering new strengths and building on existing ones;
- Increasing your confidence in social and business settings;
- Enhancing your engagement in the broader community; and
- Learning from the experience and acquired the wisdom of a committed supporter.
I was pleasantly surprised that the program was able to match me with a mentor who shares similar cultural interests and passions even though we are in different fields. I enjoyed meeting up with my mentor who was always open to sharing her perspective as a successful creative innovator. The experience of being a mentee broadened my horizons and I would recommend this program to other graduate students who might want a different perspective outside of academia.
Jennifer Lau, PhD Candidate, East Asian Studies, Co-Editor of Fête Chinoise
Being a Mentor
Eligibility:
You don’t need to be a U of T alumnus to apply to become a Hart House mentor. Mentors will have the satisfaction of knowing that they are helping to provide direction and opportunities to a student that could help change the course of his or her life for the better. In fact, many mentors report that they benefit at least as much from the process of mentoring as do their mentees, and oftentimes more.
Serving as a mentor will allow you the opportunity to provide a graduate student or mature part-time undergraduate student with:
- Access to professional and social networks;
- Focused attention on the discovery of new strengths and the reinforcement of existing ones;
- Increased confidence in social and business settings;
- Introductions to communities of interest outside the classroom; and
- Encouragement in the discernment of professional pathways.
After many years it felt so good to reconnect with Hart House and to be part of the mentorship program. It reminded me of what makes Hart House so unique and special. Furthermore I was paired up with an impressive and thoughtful student and as with all relationships, I found the mentoring experience to be a two way street of sharing and learning.
Paula Glick (BA, Innis College), Hart House Mentor
Contact
More Information
Please email Bonnie Merchan-Douglas, Alumni Engagement & Stewardship for Advancement or call 416-946-7325