National Mentoring Month!

Be a mentor.

Find a mentor.

January is National Mentorship Month! Every student and postdoc could benefit from having a mentor in their circle of support, so we're celebrating with opportunities for UCSF trainees to learn the skills to build their own professional community. Let January be your time to reflect and connect with our help!

Outlined drawing of two hands shaking

Mentoring Month Events to Attend

Wednesday, January 11 - OCPD/ADEA: Meet the Dental Residents Mixer

5:20 - 6:40 p.m. (Pacific) | HSW-300 Parnassus Heights

Population: Dental Students

This event is co-sponsored by ADEA and OCPD.

Come meet current UCSF dental residents in a casual environment. It's never too early to start building professional relationships and learning more about how to navigate professional social events with confidence and style. We welcome all dental students and residents, and highly encourage first year dental students to join us!

Dinner and drinks will be available on a first come first served basis, so please arrive on time and bring your appetite.

We'll have multiple games and raffle prizes ($25 Amazon gift cards and more!) for students and residents, so come ready to mingle, to learn about what it's like in a specialty, and to enjoy each other's company.

Lastly, to help everyone make the most of the event, please review our Networking 101 animation playlist. (the first video is below)

Thursday, January 12 - CANCELED Workshop: Finding your mentors and building your professional community

This event has been CANCELED

However you may view the recording of a previous offering of this workshop

1:30 - 3 p.m. (Pacific) | Virtual

Populations: students, postdocs

Everyone will tell you that mentorship is important, but how does a student or postdoc find mentors? In this workshop, we'll discuss the types of mentors there are and you'll identify which ones you need to develop your mentoring team. We'll then discuss how students and postdocs establish and maintain mentoring relationships and how resources like UCSF Connect can help. Finally, you'll brainstorm a plan to build the community you need for success.

Presenter: Naledi Saul, MPM - Director, Office of Career and Professional Development

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

Describe what mentorship is and the benefits of mentorship
Categorize 5 different types of mentors every student and postdoc needs
Analyze what types of mentorship you have in your own life
Identify which mentors you need to seek now and why
Develop different strategies to find your mentors and build your professional circle of support!

For more on the programs in this series, visit the Manage Up Series.

Wednesday, January 18 - Workshop: Networking 100: Preparing to Engage Your Professional Community

12 - 1 p.m. (Pacific) | CS-0101, Parnassus Heights

Populations: students, postdocs

Engaging other professionals takes more than just approaching someone randomly. Come learn more about how to prepare to network confidently.

“Why would anyone want to talk to me?” Does the thought of approaching a new professional colleague leave you feeling insecure? You’re not alone! This session was developed to help students and postdocs start preparing for networking by assessing their social interaction skill level while also exploring how to begin to address situational social anxiety while networking.

In this session, attendees will:

Discuss the networking process and use a 5 stage networking assessment to determine their skill level
Examine how professional goals and social anxiety intersect when preparing to network
Apply a networking preparation framework in 5 steps
Outline additional networking preparation and practice resources

This will be an interactive person session and lunch will be served to attendees who register for the event.

Priority registration for First Generation and UIM students will take place from January 2 - 8, 2023.

General registration will be open starting January 9, 2023

Monday, January 23 - Workshop: Using informational interviews to initiate mentoring relationships

5:30 - 6:30 p.m. (Pacific) | Virtual

Populations: students, postdocs, alumni

Many students and postdocs pick mentors based on career goals, but how do you know if you are compatible (beyond the work) with your potential mentors? Informational interviewing! We’ll walk you through each step of a strategy to use a 20-30 minute conversation to determine if this is the mentor for you!

Wednesday, January 25 - Panel: First Gen Mentorship Alumni Panel

5:30 - 6:30 p.m. (Pacific) | Virtual

Populations: students

Listen to a panel of first gen alumni and mentors who will be answering questions on their personal experience managing finances during grad/professional schools. Some topics that will be discussed include:

advice on budgeting
loan repayment tips
lessons learned when managing finances in school from a first gen perspective.

Thursday, January 26 - Celebrate: Thank your mentor day UC Alumni Career Network webinar: Enhancing Your Career Journey Through Mentorship

12 - 1 p.m. (Pacific) | Virtual

Populations: students, postdocs, alumni

Professional growth is a lifelong journey and finding the right mentors can have lasting impacts on your career success. In honor of National Mentorship Month, join us for a webinar on "Enhancing Your Career Journey Through Mentorship." Learn where to look for mentors both inside and outside the workplace and gain tips on how to build and maintain an effective mentoring relationship.

Monday, January 30 - Workshop: Preparing For and Cultivating Sponsors

12 - 1 p.m (Pacific) | Virtual

Populations: students, postdocs, alumni

What's the difference between a mentor and a sponsor?

Why are sponsors more effective at helping women advance in their careers? Join us to find the answers to these questions in this interactive session! Attendees will learn how to clarify long term career goals and identify an appropriate sponsor to align with so you can both meet your goals. We will also explore how to transition into and cultivate those relationships. The Women's Career Advancement Series was created as a direct result of UCSF students and alumni asking OCPD for more help with questions around strategic positioning, confident communication and negotiation. As we recognize that everyone can benefit from learning more about these professional skills and strategies, as well as how to support more equitable workplaces, all UCSF students, postdocs and alumni of any gender identity are warmly invited to participate in this valuable workshop. By the end of this session, you will be able to:

List achievable goals in preparation for identifying a sponsor
Identify and assess potential sponsors
Recognize how to establish a sponsoring relationship
Discuss how to approach a potential sponsor

Tuesday, January 31 - Dean’s Excellence in Mentoring Award

Tune in on January 31 at 4 p.m. PST!

4 p.m. | Virtual

Populations: students, postdocs, alumni, faculty, staff

Join the Graduate Division as we recognize the recipients of the 4th Annual Dean's Awards for Excellence in Mentoring for Postdocs and Graduate Students!

Six awardees (three graduate student and three postdocs) and several honorable mention recipients will be honored during this ceremony and reception hosted by Graduate Dean Nicquet Blake and Assistant Dean D'Anne Duncan.

Meet this year's honorees.

Due to campus event policies, attendance is limited at the in-person event, but all are welcome to tune in to the event via Zoom webinar.

Webinar ID: 949 2001 2631
Passcode: 227111