Breakout Sessions for Friday, November 13, 2026

Mentoring moments appear every day—in the hallway after class, during learning assistant sessions, and even on email. While we often think about mentoring in positive terms, such as when we encourage another person, it’s worth remembering that mentoring has another dimension. Specifically, in order to help others to develop and grow, we often find ourselves navigating difficult conversations, such as when offering performance feedback or setting boundaries on our time. How do we turn these conversations into valuable mentoring moments? Session attendees will walk through multiple relevant mentoring situations (e.g., student mentor to student learner, student mentor to faculty colleague, faculty/staff colleague to faculty/staff colleague), unpack what makes each situation difficult, and practice moving through conversations effectively. Participants will leave with strategies for increasing the chances that mentees and colleagues will tune in and respond to the messages we aim to provide.