Thank you for your interest in serving as a SEEDS meeting mentor. The
Ecological Society of America’s SEEDS Program is seeking ESA members to serve as
“meeting mentors” for undergraduate students at the 2012 ESA Annual Meeting in
Portland, OR. The SEEDS (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity
and Sustainability) Program sponsors Annual Meeting attendance for
underrepresented students and other undergraduates with a demonstrated
commitment to the program’s mission. The mentorship program is integral in
helping SEEDS nurture student interest in ecology, ultimately to diversify and
advance the field.
If you are matched with a student, your primary role as a meeting mentor will be
to help guide your student through the meeting and to share your personal
experiences in the field of ecology. You will share your advice, help them
select sessions, introduce them to others, explain research being presented, be
a familiar face among the thousands, etc. A meeting mentor should be active and
engaged in ecology bringing with them a positive view of ecology and research
while at the same time respecting the non-traditional views of science that some
students may bring to the meeting.
Pre-Meeting
If matched, your role will begin in late spring when you receive your student's
contact information and they receive yours. SEEDS will ask for communication
with your student throughout the summer. During this time, you and your student
will get to know each other via email and/or phone exchanges. You will also help
answer any of their questions or concerns before the meeting. Anticipated
commitment is about 30 minutes per week.
At the Meeting
Once at the meeting, we ask that mentors meet with their students at least once
a day. This daily interaction can be going to a session together, attending a
SEEDS or social event, sharing a meal, etc. Anticipated commitment is about 60
minutes per day. We also require that mentors attend four SEEDS events (cost of
attendance is covered by SEEDS):
There are other SEEDS events at the Meeting that we encourage you to attend;
more information will be provided, if you are matched.
We will ask you to complete a brief evaluation via email. If you and your
student both wish, we encourage you to continue communication with each other.
