Mentorship Series: Mallory Gaspard and Alexander Vladimirsky

October 21, 2024

Alexander Vladimirsky and Mallory Gaspard
Professor Alexander Vladimirsky and doctoral candidate Mallory Gaspard

As a graduate student, having a positive relationship with your mentor is the linchpin of your success, but how do you build these crucial ties and get the mentoring you need?

This academic year, we’re interviewing faculty-graduate student pairs about what makes their mentoring relationships work. From practical tips to broader perspectives, these Q&As will equip you with ideas and tactics for improving your own mentoring relationships.

This week, we’re speaking with Mallory Gaspard, a Ph.D. candidate in applied mathematics, and Alexander Vladimirsky, professor of mathematics.


At-a-Glance

For Mentees:

  • Bring your whole, authentic self into your mentoring relationship and make honesty a priority.
  • Identify what you need from a mentoring relationship and the areas in which you hope to grow and let this inform your search for a mentor.
  • Establish communication and conflict-resolution methods early on in the partnership.
  • Be open to your mentor’s perspectives and trust that your mentor has your best interests in mind.

For Mentors:

  • Trust, respect, and believe in your students.
  • Help mentees view gaps in their knowledge and mistakes as learning opportunities.
  • Share your fundamental values early on in the mentoring relationship.
  • Introduce mentees to a variety of perspectives, including those of academic researchers and industry professionals.

Mallory Gaspard, Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Mathematics

How did you identify your mentoring needs and how has that self-understanding helped shape your approach to find, foster, and engage in mentoring relationships?

My approach to identifying my mentoring needs is twofold. First, I reflect on my most fulfilling experiences as a mentee and determine the commonalities between these relationships. Second, I aim to identify areas in which I hope to grow. This allows me to seek mentors who are hopefully able to support a relationship which exhibits the common characteristics identified in part one and the growth goals identified in part two. It is also important, especially in graduate school, to recognize that our individual goals and needs often change as we move through this experience. So as a mentee, it is beneficial to reevaluate our needs periodically and take steps to grow the mentoring network accordingly in order to maximize our support structure.

How do you collaboratively identify and establish mutual expectations around communication, conflict resolution, and other key areas to best work and grow together?

In long term, close working relationships, conflict is inevitable, and it is helpful to learn conflict resolution and individual coping strategies to navigate the more challenging periods. My mentors and I try our best to maintain open and clear communication. We aim to understand that sharing feedback with each other is designed to encourage positive growth, and we trust that raising a concern amidst conflict comes from the intention of using this information to identify how we can sustainably move forward together in ways which work for both of us.

What is your best advice for students looking to create and maintain a positive relationship with a mentor?

I would say first and foremost, be open, be honest, and be yourself! A mentor-mentee relationship is just like any other human relationship in the sense that it’s fundamentally a connection between two individuals. The first step in cultivating a sustainable, positive relationship with a mentor is to engage in connections with potential mentors where you feel comfortable and encouraged to be fully yourself. The next step is to be proactive and intentional with maintaining the connection. Relationships don’t just happen – they have to be co-created and maintained by both the mentor and the mentee. Ask your mentor(s) to catch up on a regular frequency which works for both of you, ask for their advice or opinion on matters which may be relevant, keep them apprised of your academic/professional progress, etc. This can also set the stage for continued meaningful engagement beyond your years in school.

What does it mean to you personally to be a good mentee and partner in a mentor-mentee relationship?

For me, some of the most important aspects of being a good mentee are trusting that my mentor has my best interests at heart, even during challenging times, and showing consideration and appreciation for my mentor’s contributions to the relationship. At the core, mentors and mentees need to both feel supported and valued, and as a mentee, it is important to acknowledge the mentor’s efforts and impact. It is also important to be open to considering your mentor’s perspective, even when it may not always align with yours. Being open to considering diverse perspectives from a variety of mentors who truly care about you can further enrich your professional and personal growth as well.

What do you believe is the key to success in a productive mentor-mentee relationship?

From my own experiences, the most productive, mutually fulfilling, and long-lasting mentor-mentee relationships that I have had are those in which both the mentor and mentee are willing and able to bring their full selves to the table and engage in the relationship in a holistic sense. Being an academic is one of several important components of both the mentor and the mentee’s individual identities, but being able to also connect with each other over shared interests or experiences outside of the technical/academic aspects of the relationship further humanizes the connection in ways that positively support the pursuit of academic/professional development goals and personal enrichment and growth simultaneously. To me, this is key in cultivating the trust, compassion, mutual understanding, and connection necessary for a productive, meaningful, and lifelong mentor-mentee relationship.


Alexander Vladimirsky, Professor of Mathematics

What positive or negative experiences inform your approach to mentorship or help shape your philosophy?

My late mother was not an educator. But I have learned from her that believing in people improves lives – both theirs and your own.

I was very lucky to have many wonderful mathematical mentors and am still in touch with most of them. The memory of how much they inspired and encouraged me is a great motivation to pay it back now by supporting my early-career colleagues. Remembering that I was also, occasionally, “quite a handful” helps me be more patient when the mentoring work requires this.

What makes mentoring important to you?

Mentoring is one of the oldest Ithacan traditions. The very word “mentor” comes from the name of Odysseus’ friend entrusted with the upbringing of his son, Telemachus. And the goddess of wisdom, Athena, supposedly took Mentor’s form whenever she had some useful advice to share with Ithacan locals. That’s an impossible expectation to live up to, but we have to keep trying.

More seriously, the next generations are supposed to be better than us – otherwise humankind will be in trouble. So, we should do what we can to help them learn from our mistakes. It is a pleasure and a privilege to assist them at this early stage of their professional lives. And we often get to improve professionally along the way too.

How do you collaboratively identify and establish mutual expectations around communication, conflict resolution, and other key areas to best work and grow together?

We do follow standard university processes (e.g., regular meetings, SPR reports/dialogues with Ph.D. students, conversations with the director of graduate studies and committee members whenever necessary, etc.), but when starting a new mentoring relationship, I usually focus on fundamental values rather than additional protocols.

I strive to share my passion for mathematical research and my personal interpretation of “professional integrity.” I explain that building an impressive CV and knowing how to navigate networking opportunities are important skills for one’s professional career, but neither of these will compensate for an insufficient depth in one’s actual research accomplishments. I expect (and guide) my early-career colleagues to adhere to the best research practices and ethical standards. I also help them in developing skills in professional communication. On all of these, I try my best to “lead by example.”

I am convinced that we learn best when we are willing to admit gaps in our knowledge and be vulnerable in front of others. In group meetings, seminars, and one-on-one interactions, I try to foster a collaborative environment, in which it is OK to not know something or to be wrong (as long as you learn from your mistakes), an environment in which building true understanding is valued much more than creating an appearance of understanding. I encourage my students to defend their mathematical opinions, particularly when they disagree with me. Whenever they turn out to be right in such an argument, I view it as a cause for celebration and an important milestone in their professional development.

I also remind my younger collaborators that they can choose from a broad range of career directions, research projects, and mentors. Those who don’t find my research direction or personal style to be a good match will probably do better with other mentors/advisors.

What is your process to review and refine your mentoring agreement to ensure it is timely and contextually relevant based upon the mentee’s academic and professional standing and progress? For example, needs for a pre A-exam student will be different from those of a doctoral candidate on the job market.

When a Ph.D. student starts working with me, I usually provide close guidance (and some handholding, if necessary) on their first project. But I expect them to become the driving force on the second project, participating in all stages as an equal contributor. By the time of the third, they should ideally feel that they can do it mostly without me – though, of course, I am still available for consultations/collaboration if they want my input. I expect them to become much more independent by the fourth/fifth year, developing their own personal view of our research area, looking for new projects that go beyond my own expertise, and drawing in new collaborators.

I also strongly encourage them to complete at least one internship in the industry even if they are planning/hoping to work in academia. Having a viable “plan B” gives you confidence and improves your chances of executing your “plan A” successfully.

As my students progress through their graduate studies, I try to expose them to a variety of perspectives through discussions with other Cornell mentors and visiting researchers. I encourage them to take pride in their work and present it at seminars, workshops, and conferences. This also helps them once they switch to the “job search mode” later.

What do you believe is the key to success in a productive mentor-mentee relationship?

  • Mutual trust and respect
  • Honesty in discussing:
    • career goals and scientific goals
    • chances of attaining those goals
    • necessary steps for improving those chances

Whenever negative feedback is warranted, it should be constructive and delivered with empathy (though without sugarcoating).

A mentor should never forget that each person that comes for advice has their own set of unique strengths, weaknesses, fears, and aspirations. All of these affect their academic and professional development; mentoring activities should be adapted accordingly.


Additional resources are available in the FAIM Practical Toolkit for Mentoring in Graduate Education.