January is national mentoring month, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to highlight a few of SMAHRT’s mentoring relationships. Mentoring is woven into all aspects of SMAHRT’s team culture.
The first mentor pairing we wanted to highlight is between Reese Hyzer, a SMAHRTeam member and PhD student at Loyola University, and Zoe Stratman, a second-year research intern and UW-Madison senior.
Reese was inspired to become a mentor because she lacked a mentor when she was navigating undergrad herself. She missed having someone that had done what she was doing and that could show her the ropes.
When Reese was an undergraduate student, she was part of other research teams and during that time everything felt mysterious and behind-the-scenes. “I wanted to be a mentor to be able to break things down and show that research isn’t something that is mysterious. I wanted to make it more accessible, friendly, and doable while also building relationships with interns,” she explained.
Reese began mentoring Zoe during her second year as a staff member.
“It was a great way to be able to share my knowledge and to take the approach that whatever was confusing or scary to me when I was an intern, I wanted to make less scary and intimidating. I’m not of the mindset that because I had a difficult route, I don’t want someone else to feel like they have to,” said Reese.
During Reese’s mentorship experience, she is most proud of learning more about her communication and leadership style. “It’s been really cool figuring out, learning, and developing my mentorship style.”
She has also been able to translate your style to be able to mentor high-school-students during the Summer Research Scholars program and aid other staff members in peer-to-peer mentoring. “I’ve enjoyed figuring out how I mentor, how I like to be mentored and paying it forward as I go,” said Reese.
Zoe began her mentorship relationship with Reese during the spring of her sophomore year. During that time the pair met weekly to check-in on what is going on that week and how Reese can help.
“Reese provides a constant stream of support for all of the research endeavors that I am undertaking,” explained Zoe. “We’ve also worked closely on a couple of team projects that has only strengthened the mentorship. It offers a nuanced level to our mentorship because she is offering me guidance on general research practices, while offering a new level of guidance in specific project settings.”
Their relationship has made Zoe more comfortable asking questions, getting help, and all those things that you could hope for in a mentor.
Reese’s most recent and fond memory of Zoe is watching her present at the Promoting Research in Social Media Health Symposium (PRISM). When they started working together, Zoe was working with Reese on the SAHM and Mental Health pilot as a trainee. Zoe helped with data collection and talking through the codebook for the pilot and now she is taking on a leadership role for a larger team project. Zoe has been passing on her knowledge and mentoring other interns.
“I felt like the culmination was watching her present at PRISM. Now she is able to take her knowledge and show other people on that dissemination side,” said Reese. “It’s been really exciting to watch her grow and be able to share both her knowledge and all of the work we have been doing for the last two-years.”
When Zoe began her journey on SMAHRT she was timid. When she met with Reese during their check-ins, they were very to the point and weren’t interpersonal. As their relationship developed, Zoe began to value that connection, especially during COVID.
“Reese was one of the people I talked to the most as I wasn’t seeing my usual group of friends,” said Zoe. “She is just a person that I really enjoy knowing and talking to. We’ve become closer and I really appreciate everything she does for me.”
Zoe explained that Reese is great to have in your corner.
“She is non-judgmental which is very beneficial for me because I ask so many questions. It is so comforting to have a mentor that I know I can ask a question to,” said Zoe.
Zoe went on to explain that is especially important in research because she didn’t have a lot of exposure prior to staring working with SMAHRT. “I really think her mentorship is what has allowed me to be more comfortable in sharing my opinions. Reese makes me feel confident enough in my research abilities as an individual and comfortable enough that I can voice my ideas on team projects. I’ve really become a more well-rounded teammate on this lab,” said Zoe.