National Mentoring Month highlights importance of professional guidance

JACKSON, Tenn. — January is National Mentoring Month, which gives us an opportunity to reflect on the importance of mentorship in our community.

Mentorship provides an opportunity to recognize the vital role of mentors, and specifically, college mentors. Beyond serving as academic advisors who offer assistance with course selection or how to improve your thesis, the most impactful college mentors focus on both your academic and career goals beyond graduation.

“Anytime you can enhance relationships, trusting relationships, between people who are at one stage of their journey and maybe people who are behind a step or two from that stage in their own journey. You create these wonderful opportunities for people to bring the next generation along, and to provide support that we all need, as well as that human touch and that human connection,” said Dr. Kimberley Estep, southeast regional vice president and chancellor for Western Governors University.

WGU is the online university serving Tennessee and a host of states across the country. For more than a decade, this nonprofit, accredited institution has offered degrees and educational opportunities designed to fit into busy work and home life schedules. We live our lives online these days, so it makes sense that thousands of adults enroll in WGU and rely on its mentors from day one to help them achieve their goals.

For more information on how to become a mentor or undergo mentorship, click here.

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