Diana Mwanyangapo
A week or so ago, whilst reading a local daily, on the SMS corner, I came across the following:
“Dr Nelson Mlambo from Unam, no wonder students call you ‘the main switch’. You are such an amazing mentor, who selflessly provides students from undergraduate to postgraduate with your wisdom. You make opportunities available for growth and self-discovery – you are such a rare kind. Keep it up and may God bless.”
This SMS hit me hard and set me to thinking, not only because the person who was being appreciated is known to me as well and has been a source of inspiration to me personally, but most importantly because it made me ponder seriously about the role of mentorship in higher education and life in general. The rhetorical questions that I wish to ask and tease out, therefore, are: Could mentorship be the missing ingredient in the higher education system in Namibia? Is it enough to acquire knowledge and skills from university and thus make it both at school and beyond? And, are lecturers and professors supposed to be contented with delivering erudite lectures, and the student-lecturer relationship ends in lofty lecture halls? Where exactly is the place for academic and professional mentorship in higher education? Where and who is that advisor who is there to guide, advise, direct and inspire young souls?
The word mentor has recently gained currency in the professional world, where it is thought to be a good idea to have a mentor, a wise and trusted counsellor, guiding one’s career, preferably in the upper reaches of the organisation. And yet my plea is that we do not really have to wait until students graduates or until their day of graduation when “prominent” names from society come and give grand orations to “inspire” the graduates, which in most cases ends with the mantra – “do not be job seekers but go out and create employment”. Alas, at this moment we cannot uninstall the job-seeker software that has been installed in us since year one – and trying to do so this late, we can only hope for error 404 from these happy but uncertain, confused and anxiety-filled graduates. What could work is an informal Mentorship 101 module right from the start – high school through post-high school education.
As the saying goes, Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, which translates as “a person is a person through other people” or “I am because you are.” The same applies to the case at hand, where mentoring needs to be a protected relationship that supports experimentation and helps individuals, especially the young, to develop their potential. A mentor is supposed to be a person, teacher or friend, who guides a less experienced person by building trust and modelling positive behaviour. An effective mentor understands that his or her role is to be dependable, engaged, authentic, and tuned into the needs of the mentee. Being a student is tough and a lot of hard work, where one may be bumbling like a bat all the way to the end. Yet, there is no denying that mentoring provides us with the support that we need to go forward in our academic journey. Having a mentor is more than a blessing as this is a person that guides you and tells you what to do and how to do it.
In the contemporary world, it is really tough to get something right for the first time of doing it and in some cases, you tend to ask for someone’s assistance here and there to make sure that you do not do it the wrong way. Most of us as young people certainly need that special person who can hold our hands and point us in the right direction, plug us with some opportunities, both local and abroad, and guide us.
Of course, this also requires the mentee to be of an excellent character disposition, prove that he or she has a positive attitude and is prepared to work hard beyond the “I am a hardworking and dependable person…” phrase that has been the clichéd fashion of writing an application letter these days. As one of my lectures always says, “One has to work 26 hours a day.” This is one of the ways mentors can get convinced that this specific mentee is worth their effort. My submission, therefore, is that as young people, we cannot also be mere receivers; we have to prove ourselves through character, fortitude, determination and having an enviable work ethic.
Having also ascertained that mentorship is a critical need in higher education, we have to also note that things do not just happen - we cannot just dream of things happening or coming to us. Even if at university, mentorship is as important as it is, it is not provided as a module, neither is it formalised. Let alone for those who are not university students, if one is an aspiring entrepreneur in society, an aspiring author, an aspiring actor/actress, you name it. We need, as young people, to ask those “who have been there – who have seen it all”, about where opportunities and possibilities lie, and how to mine them.
If you have a specific need, you can select a mentor with experience in that specialised area to meet with, just at least so that you can tap from their wisdom. Having an excellent idea alone might not be enough - there are some who have tested the river and they can help you to get across. An important advantage of having undertaken mentoring training, even for informal mentoring relationships, is that there will be a shared understanding of the mentoring process for both the mentor and mentee. Your mentor can be your role model, someone who inspires or pushes you into doing something. As university students, we need this type of person in our lives, someone who can show us the right way to go forward. This is a person who can go beyond the confines of the approved curriculum and knows the life curriculum - increases our knowledge and skills in that specific field, sharpens our understanding beyond the module and prepares us for the future.
Mentorship is indeed another work experience on its own. The reason as to why we need mentorship is that it helps us as mentees to tap into the knowledge of those with more experience than themselves. It is also an opportunity to grow our network and connect with leaders rather than only our peers. We get to connect with people that have the same interest as ours, and as such, a mentor should be someone that has knowledge of the subject area so that you will be able to learn from them. The aim is to build confidence and relationships, develop resilience and character, or raise aspirations, rather than to develop specific academic skills or knowledge. The skills that one gets from mentorship are essential to career success, and it is also very important to note that our chances of success in life or business can be amplified by having the right mentor by our side.
As an example, I was privileged to get some of my lecturers’ cell numbers and I was astounded, when I checked their WhatsApp statuses, to see the number of posts which they share for the benefit of their students: internship openings, vacancies, scholarships, postgraduate studies application openings, workshops and seminars – you name it. We certainly live in a world of opportunities and if as young people we get ‘plugged’ into the right power source, we can indeed illuminate our future paths.
In brief, therefore, in a changed and ever-changing world, where special skills, advice and direction are no longer mainly tapped from our grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts and parents; the university and post-high school educational setting certainly needs to fulfil this role of mentorship. However, it is not the “institution” that can do it – an institution is just a shell – it is what is inside that matters – mentors are the individuals inside the institutions. Yet still, as the young ones we must prove ourselves as worth the effort – we have to be teachable, ethical, determined, willing and focused. We have to open our eyes and realise that in this competitive, rough and tough world, it is those who can dream that fortune will favour.
As Professor Matengu once remarked: “A sense of responsibility does not come by complaining, and there is this increasing habit amongst the youth to just criticize. It is okay to point out what is wrong, but change does not come just by pointing fingers, it comes by taking responsibility to be the change that we desire.”
So the youth of today, rise and go find yourself a suitable mentor and be the change that you so desire. Whining is not a winning formula. Be mentored to greatness – with the right mentorship, the future is yours.