CELEBRATING A QUARTER CENTURY OF GSA SECTION MENTORING PROGRAMS: THE SUCCESSES, THE CHALLENGES, AND THE FUTURE

The Geological Society of America (GSA) has two mentoring programs that are offered annually at each of the six Section Meetings. The original, the Roy J. Shlemon Mentoring Program in the Applied Geology, was launched in 1996 and has since supported a total of almost 10,000 students and mentors! The second, the John Mann Mentors in Applied Hydrogeology, started in 2004 and now has served a combined 6,500 students and mentors.

The Shlemon and Mann Mentoring Programs recognize that most geoscience undergraduate and beginning graduate students will ultimately not pursue a full-time academic career, but rather seek a job in industry or with a government agency. But which industries or agencies? What courses should one take? What personal, technical and communications skills are needed? How does one apply and prepare for interviews? And that is where the volunteer mentors come in. Often, with many years of experience in the applied geosciences, the mentors at each GSA Section Program explain their background, their experiences, their recommendations and patiently answer mentee questions. Plus, everybody gets a free lunch!

Thanks to the now more than 25-years of gracious support by individual donors, by Sections, and by industry, it is now appropriate that we celebrate these Mentor programs at the GSA Connects 2024 Meeting in Anaheim, for it was here (Orange County) that the original mentor programs were conceived. Challenges, logistical and financial have been many, but from both a Mentor and Mentee standpoint, the programs have been a great success. We always learn from each other; and trust that with on-going innovations in mentoring techniques, we can share our ideas and skills for at least another quarter century.