UW-IT Mentoring connects newer UW–Madison employees with experienced colleagues in peer relationships that enhance skills, knowledge and experience. Enjoy the freedom to choose a mentor from anyone on campus.
One of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination.John C. Maxwell
Annual Matchup 2022-2023
The program will match mentors with mentees who will then establish clear expectations and goals in their mentoring relationship. A flexible one-year format with clear expectations and outcomes for those in a mentoring relationship.
The year will consist of a series of sponsored events to support and grow these relationships and promote cross-campus collaboration, with a focus on fostering mentoring relationships in times of uncertainty. To sign up, just fill out a mentor or mentee survey below before September 16, 2022.
As a mentor, you will be helping a mentee set and attain career and personal goals, meeting regularly to share best practices, and encouraging excellence.
As a mentee, you will learn about the campus and the IT community while expanding your network, explore potential career paths, and develop professional opportunities.
Kick-Off Event:
A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.Oprah Winfrey
Why you should consider participating in Mentoring
The UW can be a difficult place for a new IT employee. Because we are a distributed IT institution, there may not be just one answer, but multiple possible answers to any given question.
In addition, the UW offers such diversity of skills honed by our IT colleagues that is can be easy to think you are alone. But you aren’t. Chances are, someone, somewhere, has been where you are. And they’ve been stumped and confused and looking for guidance.
A mentor doesn’t have to have all of the answers. Likewise, a mentee doesn’t have to feel like they can’t be themselves and ask what they think are dumb questions of their mentor. A mentor/mentee relationship is all about being open, respectful and able to discuss topics in a non-judgemental environment. It’s about going through some personal growth together, and using that relationship to build a better person, with a better plan of where they want to be.
Mentors gain the perspective of looking at campus through another person’s eyes, and mentees can get the benefit of years of experience that they can use to build their own careers.
This culture of working together to improve each other’s perspective is really the best outcome for all IT Professionals on campus.
Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.Ralph Waldo Emerson
What does being a mentor or mentee require me to do?
As A Mentor You Will:
- Commit to regularly scheduled meeting times with your mentee
- Help the mentee set and attain career and personal goals
- Share best practices including unique professional experiences
- Establish trust with your mentee and maintaining confidentiality
- Listen actively, offering constructive and meaningful feedback for your mentee
- Help grow the program by informing others of mentoring opportunities, and
encourage participation whenever possible
As a Mentee You Will:
- Commit to regularly scheduled meeting times with your mentor
- Share your concerns and career goals with your mentor
- Participate in goal setting for the success of your mentoring relationship.
- Be open to feedback from your mentor
- Be ready to network in a community of other mentors and mentees
The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.Steven Spielberg
Be a mentor
Still have questions?
Steering Team
- Sara Nagreen / co-chair
- Lindsay Bolan / co-chair
- Conor Klecker
- Ella Tschopik
- Jerome Watson
This program was sponsored by the CIO and developed by the UW IT Onboarding Team.