SPH Mentor News Spring 2006
Spring 2006 E-Newsletter
Although there is plenty of snow on the ground, spring is officially here! Students are returning from spring break, and the end of the academic year is only a couple of months away. In terms of your mentor relationship, this may mean a few different things.
This final e-newsletter of the 2005-2006 SPH Mentor Program is intended to help you determine the next steps for your mentor relationship. Will you meet up for an upcoming event? Can you attend the mentor appreciation reception? Do you have time to continue to stay in contact with your mentor or student when the formal program comes to a close?
In this newsletter you will find:
- An article to help you reflect on and discuss your formal mentor relationship
- Reflections offered by mentors and students in the SPH Mentor Program
- RSVP information for two upcoming events
- Other announcements
Tempus Fugit
by Erin Huppert
There is wisdom and truth to the notion that an hour that passes tomorrow will be faster than an hour passed today. As the formal conclusion of this year’s program approaches, we hope that your relationships have been everything you had hoped for. Some of you may be continuing your relationships and others may part ways; but regardless of what is to come, we all must celebrate and reflect on what was.
Consider the relationship:
- Did we meet our goals and expectations as a pair?
- What was the best part about working with my mentor/student? What was the most challenging?
- Did we put enough effort into this relationship such that leaving it (or continuing it) left us more enriched than when we entered it?
For personal reflection:
- What was I most pleased about with my role as a mentor/student? What am I disappointed with, and how can I improve?
- Did I maximize the potential of this relationship to lead me in the right direction(s)? How many contacts did I make? Is there a project, job, or area of study that I considered because of this relationship?
- Would I be willing to go through this process again? Would I recommend it to my colleague or classmate?
- What have I learned about myself?
Finally, there are a few simple things we’d like you to keep in mind as the end of the academic year draws near. First, remember to thank your partner for their commitment to you. Secondly, ensure that both parties are aware of whether the relationship is ending or continuing, and that this decision is made mutually. Last but not least, celebrate your accomplishments and time spent together regardless of what is to come. Please attend the Mentor Appreciation Reception on April 19, 2006. RSVP information is below.
Thank you for a wonderful year, and best wishes to you all!
We randomly called 40 SPH Mentor Program participants in January to solicit feedback on the program and inquire about mentor relationships. Thank you to everyone who participated! We received excellent ideas to implement next year. Additionally, we have kudos and compliments to share with you:
SPH students offered enthusiastic praise for their mentors:
“I think the best part of my relationship with my mentor is that it has eased my anxiety about finding a job. She helped me realize that finding the ideal job is really a process and that it is easy for some, but can take awhile for others.”
“Our relationship is wonderful! She actually connected me to my current job. She’s been very upfront with the realities of the job, and always is full of advice. This program is one of my favorite parts about the public health program at the U.”
“Our relationship is great; my mentor has been so helpful. She helped me arrange my field experience.”
“I feel like this experience has been very valuable because it has helped me see how what we learn in class does (and doesn’t) get applied in practice.”
SPH mentors offered kind words as well:
“Our relationship has been really nice, my student is very prepared when we talk or meet, and she’s been helpful in re-connecting me with the University."
“It’s always nice to see who is ‘up and coming’ in the industry, and I’m feeling pretty positive about where my student is going.”
"I have done this a few times now, and I’m always pleased with the quality and caliber of the students I work with.”
“Our relationship is good, and it’s nice to reminisce about my days as a graduate student."
To all the mentors and students who have offered time and insights to their mentor relationship this year we say, thank you! Your commitment is invaluable and the benefits to sharing your experiences will be long lasting.
The one hour "Goal Achievement Through Treasure Mapping" workshop is this week!
Have you ever had the experience of imagining something that you wanted to have or do, and then even though it didn't seem possible, you were unexpectedly able to get it or do it? If so, you have some idea of what treasure mapping is.
Barb Laporte, career counselor and assistant director of Career Services for the SPH, discusses this provocative topic based on her new book on Thursday, March 23 at 5:00 p.m., Room 2-120 in the Molecular and Cellular Biology building.
It’s not too late to RSVP to sphdo@umn.edu
The SPH Mentor Program and the University of Minnesota Alumni Association (UMAA) Mentor Connection invite all mentors and students to attend the Mentor Appreciation Reception on Wednesday, April 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the McNamara Alumni Center.
Mix and mingle with other mentor program participants around the University, or specifically with SPHers at tables reserved for us during the reception. Light appetizers and punch will be served. U of M President Robert Bruininks will host a brief program starting at 6:15 p.m. You will also have a chance to get your picture taken with Goldy Gopher!
The keynote speaker will be current mentor and UMAA national board member Ertugrul Tuzcu, Executive Vice President, Stores, for Marshall Fields.
RSVP by April 12 online http://www.alumni.umn.edu/Appreciation.html or by phone at 612-626-0425.
Come to Classes Without Quizzes, a forum that explores everything from tree care and fishing to the food of the future and global warming, Saturday, April 1, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Borlaug Hall. For more information, contact John Byrnes at 612-625-4743 or Mary Buschette at 612-624-1745.
Free Films! Hot Topics! Freshly Popped Popcorn!
Make plans to attend the annual National Public Health Week Film Festival, sponsored by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, the Minnesota Public Health Association, and more than 15 other community partner organizations to mark NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK, April 3-7!
Admission is free. The films will touch on key areas of public health. They will be introduced by public health experts who practice or conduct research in the area highlighted in the film. Free snacks and refreshments will be served. Enter the free raffle and win great prizes.
All screenings begin at 5:30 pm in the Mayo Memorial Auditorium on the University of Minnesota east bank campus.
Monday, April 3: Mental Illness
- "Out of the Shadow" – 67 minutes
- "Hope for Recovery: Understanding Mental Illness" – 30 minutes
Tuesday, April 4: Infectious Diseases
- "Rise of the Superbugs" – 60 minutes
- "Disease of the Wind" – 58 minutes
Wednesday, April 5: Toxic Pollution
- “Journey of the Blob” - 10 minutes.
- "Crapshoot: The Gamble with our Wastes" - 52 minutes.
- "Choropampa: The Price of Gold" - 75 minutes.
Thursday, April 6: HIV Then and Now
- "And the Band Played On" - 141 minutes
- "Sowing the Seeds of Hunger” – 27 minutes
Friday, April 7: Sex Ed.
- “VD Questions, VD Answers" - 15 minutes
- "The Talk" - 15 minutes
- "The Education of Shelby Knox" - 76 minutes
- "Sex Hygiene" - 24 minutes
Find more information at www.sph.umn.edu/filmfestival
MHA Leadership Series
Leadership in Global Health: Prognoses and Performance
When: April 6, 2006, 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Where: Radisson Metrodome Hotel, 615 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN
Globalization of medical knowledge, consumer expectations, terrorism, diseases and technology advances are impacting health gain and health care with an increasing rate of change. How can leaders master these trends, stimulate organizations to higher levels of performance, and motivate populations to improved levels of health? How do we monitor and learn from comparative health system performance measurements? How do we best develop clinician leaders and lead clinicians in an era of globalization?
10th Annual Carl J. Martinson Lecture on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
"ASPIRIN AND VITAMIN E IN THE PRIMARY PREVENTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: THE WOMEN'S HEALTH STUDY"
Presented by: Julie E. Buring, ScD, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Deputy Director, Division of Preventive Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
When: Friday, April 7, 2006, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Where: 2-690 Moos Tower
Reception: 9:30 - 10:00 a.m., outside 2-690 Moos Tower
Mayo Professors in Public Health Lecture
“Sudden Cardiac Death: What Have We Learned?”
Presented by: Dr. Russell Luepker, professor of epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota
Where: Molecular and Cellular Biology, room 3-120.
When: 4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. - reception and refreshments
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. – lecture
SPH Roundtable Series
What: The SPH Roundtable Series presents “From the Human Genome through Health Disparities to Public Health”
When: Thursday, April 20, 8:30-11 a.m.
Where: Coffman Union Theater
Who: The featured Speaker is Georgia Dunston, founding director of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University.
2006 Gaylord Anderson Lecture
When: May 5, 4-5 p.m., reception following
Where: Mayo Memorial Auditorium
Named for our School’s founding dean, this event features a top public health figure. This year, Dr. N.K. Ganguly, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, will deliver the lecture. Dr. Ganguly will discuss the wide-ranging public health needs of his country of one billion people and how the organization he directs (equivalent to the U.S. National Institutes of Health) is working to address them.
One more e-mail announcement from the program will be forthcoming in April. It will contain, among other things, an evaluative survey for you to offer your thoughts and feedback to the program. In the spirit of making this program stronger and more effective for each of its participants, we look forward to receiving your comments!
All the best regards,
Michelle Lian-Anderson
Associate Director of Alumni Relations and Events Management for the School of Public Health
Erin Huppert
Student Coordinator for the School of Public Health Mentor Program