Kathy Van Giffen
A s far back as I can remember, teachers and professors stepped in to offer me direction and encouragement, but no one stands out as much as one of my professors, Mr. Michael Tate. After handing back one of my research papers, he took the time to ask me, “Have you ever considered graduate school?” That statement, I now know, changed my life. At that time, I didn’t even know what graduate school was! My father was forced to quit school after the eighth grade, and my mother was FOB (fresh off the boat from French Algeria) two months before I was born. To me, college was college—who knew of graduate school?
Obviously, I found out about graduate school and went on to earn a Ph.D. in developmental psychology. And I have tried to give others what Mr. Tate gave me. That is why I am a mentor.
The critical role mentors can play came to me even more strongly when my own daughter went off to college. While my college education progressed slowly and unevenly (three colleges and eight years to get my bachelor’s degree—most semesters working full time), my daughter breezed through. I don’t think it was because she is smarter than me or loved more than me; it appears to be because she had a professor for a mother. College was a second home for her; she knew professors personally and on a first name basis. Her parents (my husband and I) were able to understand and support her freedom from working while attending school, her dilemma over choosing a major, the workload, the relevant extracurricular opportunities and the flow of college life.
I have said before that as a mentor, I see my role primarily as a prospector who is mining diamonds in the rough. Mentors don’t make people successful; they merely smooth the way so that the students can shine. Mentors have the specialized knowledge to make the passage through college a little easier, a little more understandable.
I wonder what I would be doing today of Mr. Tate hadn’t asked me about graduate school. I become overwhelmed at the great number of potential scholars and citizens who have been overlooked because there was no one who “knew the ropes” to direct and encourage them. For these reasons, I am grateful that CSULB supports the Partners for Success Mentoring Program. I feel fortunate to be a part of it.
