|
 |
 |
| Protégés connect with mentors at the 2007 Mentoring Event during the AACC International Annual Meeting. |
|
Applications for the 2008 Mentoring Program are now being taken. The
deadline for applications is July 1, 2008; participants will be sent information
about their match in August.
Members are making a connection through the mentoring program!
Read an article from the March/April
CEREAL FOODS WORLD.
The
AACC International Mentoring Program is designed to foster relationships between
experienced members (mentors) and those with less professional experience
(protégés). The Mentoring Program is a function of AACC International's
Professional Development Panel (PDP).
The mentoring program provides valuable benefits to the protégé, including:
- Help with career development
- Individual recognition and encouragement
- Honest criticism and feedback
- Advice from someone with more experience on a variety of subjects
- Exposure to a new level of professional contacts and possible
employment
Become a protégé
In addition to the satisfaction that comes with helping someone advance,
mentors receive a number of benefits, including:
- Individual recognition, encouragement and feedback
- A perspective on the professional activities of someone less experienced
- Often an insight into a basic research program
- Exposure to a new level of professional contacts and possible employees
Become a mentor
Suggested Activities for Protégés and Mentors
Interact in whatever way makes sense but interact frequently.
Many mentor-protégé pairs may not be located where it is convenient to interact
directly. However, being together at the AACC International annual meeting may
be a possibility and the myriad of activities associated with it would afford an
excellent venue to establish and maintain a relationship. E-mails, phone calls,
and letters are all primary means of communication and should be engaged at
least every couple of weeks.
So…what are good subjects for discussion and what are some good things to do to
foster a mentoring relationship? Here are a few ideas:
- Talk about the things on your information sheets.
- Discuss the mentor’s career path.
- Discuss the protégés career aspirations and how the mentor might help.
- Serve on an AACC International committee or panel together.
- Discuss the companies, universities and government laboratories in the food
industry and the people you know that work in each.
- Find out about research programs in the companies, universities and government
laboratories.
- Network with other mentor-protégé pairs.
- Evaluate new trends in grain-based products.
- Discuss the protégé’s current activities.
- Read CFW and Cereal Chemistry articles of interest and discuss them by phone
or e-mail.
- Collaborate on something where you have a common interest.
- Share information on your hobbies.
Program participants will be
sent information about the person with whom they have been matched
in August.
Mentors and protégés will have a chance to meet in person at a
special breakfast during the annual meeting in September, but
mentors and protégés are encouraged to introduce themselves over the
phone or Internet prior to the annual meeting. Mentors and protégés from previous years are also welcome to attend the breakfast. You need not attend
the annual meeting in order to participate in this program.
Mentors and protégés should continue to interact by whatever means is
suitable for each pair.
Fill out the online form to become a mentor or a
protégé. (PDFs
of the mentor or
protégé forms are also available.) Applications
will be taken through July 1, 2008.
For more information on this program, please contact Bill Atwell,
Mentoring Program chair, at +1.952.238.4890 or
bill_atwell@cargill.com.
|