Last week, I attended a panel discussion on "Mentoring Tips and Strategies" hosted by the Association for Faculty Women (AFW) at WSU. One theme that recurred in the experiences and advice shared by the panelists was that important mentoring moments often occur outside of the formal meetings in which a 'mentor' attempts to impart wisdom and guidance to a 'mentee'. Informal mentoring can even occur without the mentor, the mentee, or either recognizing its significance at the time. Below, I have attempted to distill some of the ideas that emerged from the discussion on how to be more proactive as both a mentor and a mentee.
