Mentoring people, either formally or informally, has always been an aspect of this club that I’ve enjoyed being a part of. Because of my interest in it and because of how much I loved my own Academy experiences as a cadet and as a mentor, I decided the first place I should get plugged into the administration of STF was the Academy. I started off in kind of an observer role that Daniel created for me since he had a full and experienced staff. I then became Academy Fleet Liaison Officer. When I was Vice President under Linds I helped launch the Command Mentorship Program and was involved in the resolving the Academy issues of the day, eventually returning to the Academy Fleet Liaison Officer position to try to help get the Academy back on track. I was then Vice Commandant briefly before transitioning to help elsewhere. All this is to say I care a great deal about the Academy and understand it well. It’s a really well set up training system that gives cadets a great introduction to the club when the right people are in place to staff it. One of the objectives the Academy will have this term is try to address the shortage of people who grasp the principles of the Academy who also have an ability to make it function, which is an objective I think they’ll have in common with other departments.

This term it’ll be the responsibility of the Academy Commandant to get the Mentorship Program revived and functioning, which has very recently been moved under the Academy’s jurisdiction. This is a program that was basically dead in the water most of this term and over the years there have been attempts to get it started that have fizzled. I believe the President should be aware of this and offer support to the Academy as needed and check in on how relaunching this is going.

A related area that I want to see the Academy focus on as well this term is the Command Mentorship Program. For those who don’t know, this is a simple program that provides an opportunity to be taught how to be a department head, an XO, or a CO by an experienced member. There isn’t a formal structure, but it’s a way to connect the up and coming members with someone experienced who can personally guide them as they venture into the uncharted waters of the ship roles with greater responsibility. This is the sort of program that needs to be publicized as most of the target audience probably joined after we launched the program and likely don’t know it exists.

For those interested in either of these topics the mentorship policy is being discussed now on the Academy board and the instructions to sign up for the Command Mentorship Program are on the Academy’s MOTD.

Adam
Adam W. / Thomas B.