Q&A with Devan Monroe, MIT Assistant Dean, Office of Minority Education
By: Mit Open Learning
Tags: Professional Development, Minorities, Mentorship, Higher Education, Education

MITili

Devan serves as the assistant dean in the Office of Minority Education (OME). He oversees professional development programs that include the Mentor Advocate Partnership (MAP), a volunteer mentoring program designed to complement MIT’s academic advisory system by helping first-year students build relationships with staff, faculty, post-docs, and graduate students. Devan works to ensure students are able to explore and pursue their passions inside and outside the classroom to live their most fulfilling post-MIT life.

The MAP program partners freshmen at MIT to help monitor their academic performance, their personal well-being, and to be supportive and provide encouragement to students who are looking for guidance when they first get to campus. The program was built on research that shows strong relationships throughout the college experience play an integral role in academic success and personal satisfaction and also fosters students who are more likely to finish their studies.

When did you first become interested in helping college students with mentorships?

As a first-generation college student, navigating the complexities of higher education felt particularly daunting, and I would not have made it through my own undergraduate experience without the invaluable guidance of mentors. Even now, many years later, I reflect on the experiences I had and lessons they taught me. In my professional life it became critical to help cultivate mentoring relationships for college students simply because I wanted to share the life-changing opportunities I’d been afforded via mentoring with others. Now I am privileged to direct the MAP program, which impacts dozens of first-year students each academic year, and also advise and mentor students directly through other OME programs.

What do you consider a successful mentoring experience for both the mentor and their protégé?

I think the beauty and impact of mentoring is that each relationship will look different, even for mentors who engage year over year. Some mentors and protégés may be in near constant contact, while others might not be in touch as frequently, yet both types of relationships are extremely impactful and powerful. For mentors, the important piece to keep in mind is that the overall goal is to provide support to a protégé as they need and that might force you to throw your preconceptions about (or previous experiences with) mentoring out the window entirely. Within MAP, we have mentors who are still in touch with their former protégé(s), sometimes over a decade later!

Are there any research studies that confirm mentor programs help students academically?

Absolutely! Mentoring has been studied across contexts for decades. In 2019, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a report indicating “effective mentorship has an overall positive effect on academic achievement, retention, and degree attainment, as well as on career success, career satisfaction, and career commitment.” Effective mentoring also contributes to students’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy.

Do successful mentors in the MAP program need to have previous mentoring experience to apply?

No! Each year, we welcome several first-time mentors to MAP. We provide training to ground mentors in some basic mechanics of a mentoring relationship and how to best assist their protégé in the MIT context. Through social events, we work to build a community that mentors and protégés can tap into to further expand their reach. My amazing team proactively checks in with mentors and protégés and is also available to provide additional support as needed.

What is your favorite thing about working at MIT?

The community. Faculty, staff, students — everyone at MIT is here because we want to make a positive impact on the world and it’s such a privilege to work in a place so vibrant!