In The Odyssey, Homer tells us that when Odysseus, King of Ithaca, left for the Trojan War, he entrusted his friend Mentor with the education and training of his son, Telemachus. Mentor was to develop the youngster to fulfill his birthright and succeed his father as king. Centuries later, the “mentor” still plays a vital role in personal and professional development.

The AIA sees mentoring as both transformational journey and relationship—an opportunity for mentor and mentee to learn from each other. Mentoring involves hard work but can reward participants with lifelong friendships and working relationships built on trust and mutual respect.

Architecture doesn’t exist in a vacuum. For example, building a green house as part of a community requires more than learning about sustainability; it requires an understanding of architecture as an involved and collaborative process. Likewise, a strong mentoring relationship must be an active, collaborative partnership in which both parties exchange ideas and opinions openly and freely. This dynamic reciprocity ultimately yields communal benefits.

In this podcast, Grace Kim, AIA, a principal of Schemata Workshop in Seattle, and Lee Waldrep, PhD, associate dean of the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at the University of Maryland, explain the importance and benefits of having—and being—a mentor.

For more information, you can visit ARCHCareers.org, a joint venture between AIAS and the AIA.  Also, please visit the AIA Mentorship Program.