The Role of Mentors in Our Personal and Professional Lives.

This pilot study examined the approaches and expectations regarding personal and professional balance among nine student affairs officers. The focus of the exercise was to determine lessons about balance obtained from professionals who have been mentored or are mentoring younger staff. Demographic variables were also examined to determine how they affected the relationships between the main variables. In the student affairs profession, we often hear the term mentor. We use mentoring programs to prepare younger student leaders for their work in a variety of leadership roles. Panhellenic associations use mentors in preparing less experienced sorority members to be council officers. A senior resident assistant (RA) may serve as a mentor for a first-year RA. Senior student government officers might serve as mentors for newly elected first-time senators. In Greek mythology, "to Odysseus, his son's education was so important that he sought the help of a person he could trust with his own life- his friend Mentor." (Schwartz & Bryan, 1998). The act of mentoring can be considered a part of higher education's version of professional development. Many new professionals seek out mentors; however, their personal and professional development is influenced by many activities and opportunities during their careers (Schwartz & Bryan, 1998). Cooper and Miller (1998) asserted that perhaps mentors are really personal influencers, and these personal influencers are people who have helped others develop a sense of who they are, personally and professionally, and how they view themselves as student affairs practitioners. Personal influencers are those people with whom we have worked or spent professional time, or who provided us with supervision or mentoring. They may be institutional colleagues or professional colleagues through various organizations and associations. These are people with whom we may have developed a close working interpersonal relationship (Cooper & Miller, 1998). Many student affairs positions require work beyond the traditional 40 hours per week. In some instances entire weekends are devoted to work-related activities (Hirt, Kirk, McGuire, Mount, & Nelson-Hensely, 2003). Because of the long hours and non-traditional work schedules, it is often hard for some in the field to reach a personal and professional balance. Cutler (2003) investigated stated identity development in student affairs professionals, and she reported that striking a balance in student affairs was a constant batde and one in which many pressures inhibited successful mastery of establishing a balance. Also, she stated that for some professionals imbalance was based on their own inability to say no or set limits. Methodology This article focuses on the lessons learned from mentors in student affairs. Specifically, this study investigated the importance of balance in personal and professional lives as communicated from a mentor in the field. Participants were asked to describe how they did or did not portray balance to a protege. The author utilized a simple qualitative evaluation (Patton, 1990) of selected current members of the Southern Association for College Student Affairs officers. A brief protocol of six questions was prepared by the author and tested using face validity. The protocol was sent to each participant via electronic mail as well as the United States Postal Service. As recommended by Patton (1990) as a part of qualitative research projects, follow up telephone interviews were conducted to clarify responses. The nine participants for this study were four women and five men from nine different institutions. Specifically, the participants were (a) chief student affairs officer at a major land grant institution (CSO I), (b) chief student affairs officer from a mid- size regional university (CSO II), (c) chief student affairs officer from small private liberal arts institution (CSO III), (d) chief student affairs officer from a second private liberal arts institution (CSO IV), (e) chief student affairs officer from a third private liberal arts institution (CSO V), (f) director of student life from a major land grant institution (DSL ), (g) director of housing and residence life at a large land grant institution (DHR), (h) assistant dean of students from a major land grant institution (ASD), and (i) dean of students from a small private liberal arts college (DOS). …