Show Notes



Hello and welcome to another episode of the smart student podcast. Once again, I’m your host, Dr. Ehoneah Obed. And in today’s episode, I am talking about the reason why you need a mentor.



So whether you like it or not every smart student needs a mentor. Yes, take it from me that every smart student needs a mentor. So if you have gone through school without a mentor, then this is the time to rethink it.  And in this episode, I am going to share with you the reason why you need a mentor. 



When I refer to a mentor,  I am referring to anybody at all that you can talk to that can share some insight with you about your academics, how to succeed academically. or can share with you some secrets in the particular level that you find yourself.



So in choosing an academic mentor for that matter you need to choose someone who has been where you are before. What I am trying to say is that you are not going to choose somebody who is in the same class with you as your mentor neither are you necessarily going to choose someone outside the program that you are studying. 



If you want to choose the right kind of mentor that is still referring to an academic mentor then you have to choose someone who is probably a senior colleague of yours who read or read the same program that you are currently reading. 



Here are the reasons why you need a mentor. When I went to the university actually, It was very unfortunate that I did not know anybody in my faculty and  I didn’t know anybody who was reading the Doctor of Pharmacy Program at the time and hence I was on my own for a long time.



It was right before the mid-semester examination I came across someone that I knew was actually in the faculty.  And that is how a mentorship relationship began.



What they do for you is that, since they have been where you are now before,  they know the secrets. Some of them did things that helped them succeed and some also did things that did not go well for them or that affected them negatively. 



So as you get any of these people, having a mentor in this case when I refer to a mentor, it could be a former mentorship program. Some faculty or some schools have established a former mentorship program where they pair you with a senior colleague. 



But whether it is a former or an informal one. You talking to the person and not necessarily establishing it on paper that you are my mentor and I am your mentee. It could be your own friend who is actually ahead of you.  But in your mind, you have to see it as some sort of mentorship.  And these are people that you can walk up to at any point in time to listen to the secrets that they have to share with you. 



The reason why you need a mentor  is that:



The mentor should have secrets to share with you.  And the secret should be centered on two things. That is if the person is a very good student or the person is one who is doing very well academically. Then you want to know what their secrets to their academic excellence are.



So what is making them succeed academically?  Let them share that secret with you and if however, your mentor is one person who is not doing so well in terms of the academic then you want to find out why they are not doing well. 



Some people will give you the advice that you should always choose a mentor who is academically stable, a mentor who is doing so well. Alright but I have a counter view on this. What I advise is that whoever you are choosing should have some secret to share with you and the secret could be sec...