At the core of my approach to mentoring is establishing mutual expectations, shared values, and regular communication early in our relationship, and to periodically directly check in and adjust our plan as needed. Mutual expectations means we talk in detail about how we will work together, developed through sharing what our working styles are. Shared values means we explicitly address how we will handle any difficulties that may arise - for example, in the past, I have explicitly agreed with students that we will prioritize taking care of our mental and physical health over work, so that, for example, we reschedule meetings when someone is sick without any question. Whatever agreements we make, I set up systems for regular communication and meetings, so there are frequent opportunities to check in and assess the student's progress towards various project goals. This likely means meeting in person or online at least twice a week.

Each student I work with is different, and therefore every relationship is different. However, I work hard to build trust and accountability between us, providing more direct support and training (such as in navigating the databases and software required in the research) at the beginning of our relationship and then providing support as needed once the student feels confident in managing the research tasks they have been assigned. I will give at least weekly feedback on the student's progress with research tasks. In giving feedback, I strive to be both honest and encouraging - providing critique when needed, but also offering tools to correct what needs improvement.

Other mentoring activities include helping the student develop their own research poster and discussing future career paths.