指导很重要

1985年我在戴维森学院读大一的时候, 我是学化学的, 打算从医. In my first year of college, it seemed like I spent every afternoon in a lab. 一个下午, I started heating something on my Bunsen burner and stepped over to the window to look outside. 我有做白日梦的倾向——编造关于我观察到的人的故事——我完全忘记了我是在化学实验室里，直到我正在加热的东西爆炸了，实验室助理跑了过来.

幸运的是，我有一个朋友. 那个学期我还选修了英语写作, a class I resented having to take because I considered myself a strong-enough writer already. 我的教授，博士. 伊丽莎白·米尔斯，不放过我. 我提交给她的第一篇论文, 她给了我一个C, 当我去她办公室跟她说, “我不写C级作文,她回答说, “这次你做到了.然后她开始给我展示我的模式:用介词短语开始句子的倾向, 以及对弱动词的偏好. 我发誓要改进，给她留下好印象. I vowed to turn my C into an A, and she gave me that chance.

So when my chemistry experiment exploded and the fire alarm went off, 我意识到我不适合学化学, 毕竟, Dr. 米尔斯也在场. 她说:“过来吧. 你很擅长这个.“四年里，我跟着她上了四门课, 不只是学习作文, 也是英语语言的历史, 女性作家, and an Emily Dickinson seminar where she taught me to be a literary detective. She also introduced me to writers who became literary mentors: Flannery O'Connor, 托妮·莫里森, 玛格丽特·阿特伍德, 和更多的. Dr. Mills provided just the right combination of interrogation and 鼓励.

她的支持也没有随着毕业而结束. She's read every novel I've ever published, including the one coming out next March. 她为我读书已经三十多年了. 30年前，我们不会用“师徒关系”这样的词. 我都不知道我还有导师. 我有个导游, 虽然, 也是一个很好的朋友，他帮助我看到了自己身上的可能性，而我还不知道如何表现出来. 她看见了我. 她大声叫我.

在很多情况下，有人指导我做我需要做的决定. 在个人层面上, it may have been my first purchase of a car and at the professional level, 有助于研究, 找工作和/或选择工作. 即使现在是副院长, I count on certain people who will not sugarcoat their advice and will tell it as they see it.

当我进入不熟悉的环境和新情况时，我多次得到导师的帮助, as well as in familiar environments where I needed 第二种意见. To me, mentors are individuals who I look up to and trust to give me their honest opinion. 从我来美国攻读博士学位开始.D. in Marketing, I have had multiple mentors during the processes of completing my Ph.D.找一份工作，然后换一份新工作. 读研究生, 我的朋友阿尼尔·罗德帮助并指导我，向我介绍了在美国生活的细微差别，包括教我了解美国的体育运动，包括棒球, 篮球, 和足球, 在我生病的时候帮我找医生, 并在需要时提供情感支持. 他总是关心我的职业状况, 不断询问我的研究和教学情况, and provided valuable advice on interviewing during my job search. 以他的计算机科学背景和MBA学位, 我发现与他的讨论很有启发性，因为他让我了解了企业对事物的看法, 因为我在美国没有工作经验. Here was a person I looked up to, listened to, and trusted; definitely, a mentor!

With my own experiences with the individuals who have helped me, 我是导师的坚定信徒, and try to be a mentor to students and faculty whenever possible. 从我的经历中汲取灵感, 我在学校里发起了一个导师计划，并收到了积极的反馈.

It's so important to have someone you can count on for professional advice, 第一次阅读, 第二种意见, 鼓励, 现实检查, 书的建议, 酒杯和蛋糕来庆祝, 倾听的耳朵, 也是朝着正确方向的一小步. 我的一些最好的老师是这样的，甚至更多, 他们在我成长的每一个阶段都陪伴着我——从身材矮小的三年级老师，她有一个听起来不屈不挠的名字——方老师(她给我买了很多书作为“额外阅读”)!" and gave the hardest spelling questions) to my college literature professor 德尔Tolentino (he was one of my first colleagues the year I started teaching, and the one who told me my poems were "ready" - for publication, that is; it may not sound like a lot but this felt like a big deal to me). Another memorable college professor, Chari Lucero, was well known for her acerbic observations. We met again at a conference years after I'd graduated; I had three young children by then, 还有一段不太好的婚姻. 她热情地拥抱我说:“你好!!! I hear your life is not so exquisite, but that your writing is." I know I got a laugh and I guess some perspective out of that.

When I went to Ateneo de Manila University for my MA in Literature, 我上过已故的多琳·G的课. Fernandez, one of the Philippines' leading cultural historians and food critics. 我很快就明白了为什么她会给几代接受过她指导的学生留下不可磨灭的印象:因为她, 教室里, 对学术的严格要求, 文学编辑, 和生产, should always emerge out of a sense of our specific connections to place and community. 与其他同事, 在1986年反对马科斯独裁统治的“人民力量革命”期间，她是第一批志愿为平民抗议者和士兵制作和运送食物的人之一. Her generosity and kindness were legendary—who knows how many students, 包括我自己, 在她家里找到了临时住所, coming and going in Manila; or were the recipients of meals and books and long hours of life conversation?

Carlos Angeles, whose book A Stun of Jewels (Manila: Alberto S. 弗洛伦蒂诺, 1963), received both the Carlos Palanca Award and the Republic Cultural Heritage Award for Literature, 是一位我从大学起就读过并崇拜的菲律宾诗人. 在芝加哥，当我攻读博士学位的时候.D. 在UIC, Doreen (she was still alive then) introduced me by email to Carlos, 这导致了从1993年到大约6年后他去世时几乎每天都有通信. I'd gone to Carson City/LA (where he was living at the time) to visit him a few times. 他虽然姗姗来迟，但却渴望进入互联网, 我收到的每封邮件都以“你今天写了什么??"

Working on my creative dissertation (a manuscript of poems with a critical preface), 我很幸运能请到已故的伟人 小拉尔夫·米尔斯. 作为我的顾问，就在他退休之前. 我喜欢他不动声色地告诉我，既可以成为一名职业诗人，又可以全身心地投入到家庭中. 我将永远感激你, 经过我的论文答辩，对我一无所知, 他给自己的出版商寄了一份我的手稿，小心翼翼地询问他们是否对这类东西感兴趣. 几个月后，当他们给我打电话，邀请我发表文章时，我惊呆了. 这促成了我在美国的第一本长篇出版物, 《bet8九州登录入口》(莫耶·贝尔/阿斯菲尔德).

Having these kinds of mentors in my life has made a profound impact on my own teaching. 像他们一样, 我希望我能帮助打开大门, 听深度, and make some kind of difference; each student teaches us all so much.

I love learning and I am very fortunate to have many great mentors at ODU. 当我刚开始在ODU获得终身教职时，我非常清楚我需要达到期望才能获得大学的终身教职. 我希望能在正确的轨道上获得终身教职, 我有很多问题, 然而, my friends and family were very supportive but unable to answer my many questions. I was fortunate to hear about the ODU 女性's Caucus and I immediately joined that. This is a group of women that help navigate being a female in the university and in academia. 他们做了相关的演讲, 还有社会事件, 他们还有一个导师项目，我可以找到一个导师，他非常支持我，能够回答我的许多问题. I also gained mentorship from others in the 女性's Caucus, such as Dr. 莫娜·丹纳是我的导师，也是我努力效仿的对象. 我对莫娜的评价再高也不为过，作为导师，一个人可以做些什么来支持和激励你. I owe a great deal of gratitude to the 女性's Caucus and Mona.

我获得指导的另一个地方是在教育和专业研究学院的一个名为“团队终身教职”的小组. 这是我刚到ODU时成立的一个小组. I started at the college in 2013 with a group of about 12 new tenure-track faculty members. 我很快意识到我有很多问题，其他的新朋友也有类似的问题. In one way it was a selfish motive to get support but at the same time, 我觉得只要我们互相支持就能成功. We worked on the premise that we were not in competition and that we could reach it together. 我们每个月与客座演讲者共进午餐，以帮助回答我们的许多问题. 这是一个非常支持的团体，来自整个学院的人都会主动发言，甚至提供他们提交的终身教职材料的副本. 这种同伴指导模式非常有效，我要感谢所有参加团队终身教职会议并在会上发言的人，因为正是这种指导和女性核心小组(向莫娜·丹纳大声欢呼)让我今年获得了终身教职.

——海伦·克朗普顿博士.D.

副教授
教学与学习，达顿教育学院 & 专业的研究

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导师激励和帮助. 我最伟大的导师是我的哥哥. C. 斯蒂芬·芬利. Since he was seven years my senior, he influenced much of what I know. For instance, he taught me how to tie my shoes, sink a basket, and most importantly, write. 因为他在我上大学的时候是一名研究生，在我开始终身教职的时候是一名大学教授, 对于如何成功，他总是有很好的建议, 作为我唯一的兄弟姐妹, 他自然希望他妹妹成功. 回顾, I know my brother's influence was profound; 然而, 我也知道，在我的职业生涯中，还有很多人帮助我获得了终身教职，并取得了成功. In teaching, my undergraduate history advisor left students spellbound in 教室里. 在研究, 我在国际会议上遇到了一些人，他们读了我的作品，并帮助我与剑桥大学出版社签订了第一本书的合同. 在bet8体育娱乐入口, I worked with a number of deans and associate deans who mentored me on professional issues, 一路走来, 我在bet8体育娱乐入口内外都交了很多朋友，他们帮助我度过了许多复杂角色的压力. 其中一些朋友也成了我的人生导师. The point is that I needed many mentors to help me succeed as a teacher-scholar, 管理员, 甚至作为一个女人. 像这样, 在考虑师徒关系时, 我鼓励教师们认识到，我们都需要多位导师来帮助我们驾驭职业和个人生活的复杂性.