As a mentor, I aim to find an appropriate balance between providing hands-on guidance to help students achieve their goals and giving enough space for students to make progress towards becoming independent researchers. This is certainly a delicate balancing act, but my previous experiences have taught me that this can be achieved via effective and honest communication between mentor and mentee. As part of this undergraduate research opportunity, students can expect:

• 1-on-1 meetings (mix of online and face-to-face) to discuss the student’s research interests, goals for this program, avenues to facilitate attainment of these goals and evaluation of progress;
• integration within a team of researchers in order to learn from multiple individuals with distinct skill sets and previous experiences;
• honest and constructive feedback;
• direct instruction outlining the student’s responsibilities; and,
• the necessary support for the student to not only complete the components of SPUR but take full advantage of the program’s offerings