Learning Assistant Alliance
Mentoring is often framed around guidance: sharing knowledge, offering advice, and helping others find their way forward. But what if the most meaningful mentoring begins not with what we say, but with how well we understand the person in front of us? Together with Dr. Carolyn Schick, we will explore the power of putting connection before direction. By slowing down, listening with curiosity, and considering experiences and perspectives beyond our own, we can create mentoring relationships in which people feel seen, heard, valued, and empowered. We will consider how our assumptions and biases shape our interactions, how seemingly small moments can either strengthen or diminish connection, and how perspective-taking can help us respond with greater empathy and intention. Following a series of connection exercises adapted from a Learning Assistant Pedagogy Course, we will practice mentoring followed by reflecting on how mentoring spaces can be transformed when leading by connection. This session will invite participants to rethink mentoring as more than the transfer of knowledge or experience. Whether we mentor students, colleagues, or emerging leaders, our greatest impact may come not from having the right answers, but from building the relationships that allow others to discover their strengths, find their voice, and head confidently on a path to their dreams.
Dr. Carolyn Schick is the Assistant Director of the Learning Assistant Alliance (LAA), based at the University of Colorado Boulder. In this role, she supports various initiatives and the mission of the LAA, co-organizes the annual conference (ILAC), and facilitates workshops across the country, helping institutions begin and grow their Learning Assistant (LA) programs. Prior to her Assistant Director role with the LAA, Carolyn founded and directed the LA Program at Montgomery College (MC), a three-campus two-year college located outside of Washington, D.C. in nearby Montgomery County Maryland. The MC LA program featured LAs from all over the world and Carolyn fostered empowerment and inclusion for the LAs as well as for the students they support. Before starting the MC LA program, Carolyn was a chemistry professor and faculty advisor at the College. She changed roles from teaching chemistry to starting the MC LA program as she sought a creative way to weave caregiving for her parents with supporting students at the College. Through her lived experience, Carolyn also now serves as a community educator, public speaker, and caregiving mentor - sharing insights from her caregiving journey with others, encouraging them to build connections and create moments of joy as they support those with cognitive change and dementia. Carolyn works to transform education - empowering students to articulate their ideas, help one another and capture their dreams. She brings that same commitment to transform caregiving and workplace culture - helping caregivers to connect with their loved ones and workplaces to recognize, value, and support caregivers.