The Benefits of Mentoring

Published on September 18, 2021

This image shows two men, one elderly person, and one young man. Both are looking at the drill machine and it appears that the elderly man is teaching the young man how to use it. Both are wearing safety goggles.

Mentoring is a valuable opportunity for anyone — but it is particularly impactful for deaf youth. Mentoring opportunities offer valuable experiences that contribute to personal, academic, and career development for deaf youth.

“Show me a successful individual, and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life.” — Denzel Washington

Mentoring is a valuable opportunity for anyone — but it is particularly impactful for deaf youth. Mentoring opportunities offer valuable experiences that contribute to personal, academic, and career development for deaf youth.

Growing up, I didn’t really have many deaf mentors. When I went to college, I began to meet deaf community mentors. I saw deaf people working in different fields and learned from their approaches, their philosophies. – Chris Moreland, Physician

Mentoring experiences give deaf youth opportunities to gain skills that will nurture their personal, academic, and career development. Positive mentoring experiences are mutually beneficial and have lasting influence on both the mentee, mentor, and even the mentee’s family members. Below are stories about deaf adults who experienced mentoring in different ways. While each person had a different type of mentor, they share similar fundamental elements: mentors who believed in them.

  • Parent Mentor Experience: Shira

  • Group Mentoring Experience: Marilyn

  • Peer Mentoring Experience: Chris

  • Mentee Experience: Octavian

There are many positive outcomes from mentoring experiences. When we look closely at the stories people have shared, the following benefits are evident:

If your goals are to create more opportunities and positive experiences for deaf youth, a well-designed mentoring program can help you and provide countless benefits for learning and growth.

Resources to Build Mentoring Opportunities

National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC) believes in the power of mentorship. We have a number of resources to help you get started on building or strengthening mentoring opportunities.

Need more help? As always, the NDC | help team is here to support you.

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