Find Your Perfect Match: The GOFAR Guide to Seeking out a Faculty Mentor

With Valentine's Day just behind us, now is an excellent time to consider not only any significant others in you life, but all other relationships, too. So if you're looking for that perfect someone to guide you through your academic and professional endeavors, we are here to help!

One thing with which students often struggle, especially early in their careers as Hoyas, is the prospect of finding a faculty mentor. Many do not understand why this is such an important goal in itself, perpetually postponing the task. Faculty mentors can do so much for students, however, from providing advice on course structure to research engagement to helping students find internship and work opportunities in the sector of their interest! To help out, we have compiled a few ideas to set you on the route to finding that special faculty member who can really enrich your time at Georgetown.

Foster a Relationship
Odds are, especially by junior or senior year, that class enrollment mirrors both academic major and professional interest. One of the absolute easiest ways to set yourself on the road to a faculty mentor relationship is to go to office hours. Yes, it's true- that pedantic line all freshmen are fed about the benefits and appreciation of going to professors' office hours holds up! If you are enrolled in a class that really sparks your interest, seek out the professor one-on-one and convey this excitement. Repeated interaction and engagement is a natural, organic way to form a relationship with a professor in your field, and can yield a mentorship beyond a single semester-long class.

"Cold" Emails
This term might be misleading- we are not suggesting you contact professors with disinterest and detachment! Rather, we recommend doing a little digging, and then casting a wide net. There is no rule book that mandates you take a professor's class before reaching out to them. Rather, it is a completely accepted practice for a student to look into a particular department, for example, and email professors in whose work they are interested. This method can be particularly effective when seeking out a mentorship based on research- all Georgetown professors are required to engage in research, creating countless opportunities for students to become engaged in relevant and exciting work. Here at GOFAR, we highly recommend reading up on the professor first and being ready to reference particular projects that interest you. Be ready to send quite a few of these- just like any out-of-the-blue proposition, there is a chance you'll be shot down, but the final, successful match makes it worth it!

When All Else Fails, Ask For Help!
If you find yourself really struggling to connect with a professor whose class you are taking, or are having no success with "cold" emails, be sure to reach out to third-party facilitators. Talk to your dean, for example; especially once you have declared your major, your dean can be an excellent resource for finding a professor whose expertise aligns with your interests. Alternatively, a Department Head is also a promising resource to "set you up" with a professor seeking research assistance or who is particularly focused on your area of interest.


The moral of the story is: don't go through your time at Georgetown alone! Don't be shy or play hard to get; go after the academic of your dreams. In no time at all, you can have a faculty mentor for life (at least your life on the Hilltop!).

Post by Christine Johnson (SFS '15)