Jess, I have mentored students during summer internships, when I provided a project, and helped the student complete the project. At other times, I mentored students during the school year, either through "shadowing", which was for just one day, or by providing a project and assisting the student complete the project. I've also participated in panel discussions for informal education events, given planetarium programs that also involved showing students how to use the planetarium projector, answered questions via email, and more recently, spoken with students virtually. To be a good mentor, it is important to remember that none of us were born with our knowledge of science. Most of us had to work really hard to finish school and obtain our position. So patience is a very good trait. Also encouragement: encouraging the student to ask questions, even when they (the students) think the question is "dumb". If a concept is not clear to the student, the mentor should happily re-explain. Finally, as Christina said, sometimes a mentor needs to just listen to whatever issues the student may have.
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