Update-- The connections program is now full and no longer accepting sign ups.
LOOKING FOR MENTORSHIP?
SIGN UP FOR CONNECTIONS BEFORE THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE!
We all know the value of a good mentor - someone who can share with a newer professional the ins and outs of our work with students, guide career development, and offer a safe space to reflect and process. For many years, GLACUHO has committed to fostering mentor-mentee relationships through the CONNECTIONS Program. Each year, a number of our new professionals and graduate students have been matched with more senior professionals in Housing.
The GLACUHO mentoring program is not a traditional one; it has some important differences! First, all participants are called Connectors, a recognition that both individuals have something to offer and something to gain in the mentoring relationship. Second, the application is robust. In addition to taking account of years in the profession and institutional types worked at, skills and abilities are included. This is meant to reflect the idea that mentees select mentors who can offer different kinds of expertise and knowledge. Finally, the Connections session at the Annual Conference will include an opportunity to meet two o individuals between whom separate mentoring relationships may develop. The goal is to foster a web of useful mentoring relationships across multiple learning areas.
With all of this difference, some things do stay the same! There is a value to positioning more seasoned professionals with newer ones - experience does matter! A significant part of the behind-the-scenes matching process will emphasize this value. We also encourage Connectors to maintain their relationship during the course of the year, since it's often the long-term relationship that makes the most difference.
All of this together really means that we need YOU! For new professionals, it should be a great opportunity to connect with mid- and senior-level professionals, gaining both knowledge and networking relationships. It will also be a chance to share some of your passion and knowledge from being right on the ground with students. For more seasoned professionals, this is a wonderful chance to meet a variety of new professionals, inspiring and guiding each one of them. Indeed your assistance is needed perhaps more than ever in this new program! It is only in having large numbers of seasoned professionals that the networked nature of this will work successfully.
Be sure to sign up early, since you will NOT be able to sign up at the Conference (the matching process has to be done ahead of time to be successful).