Mentoring

Part of a distributed mentoring movement (thanks to Diana Kimball for initiating!). Find more information here, and if it resonates, create a /mentoring page of your own—it’s open sourced and aimed at ubiquity, so all you have to do to take part is post a short page on your own blog or website.

Every major step forward in my life so far has been inspired and encouraged by the people that I’ve been fortunate enough to know. Though I’ve learned an enormous amount from reading (and in various capacities “following”) the work of smart and innovative people, I believe that hopes, dreams, and advice are best shared in ongoing personal relationships, and it’s important to me to make myself available as a mentor to others.

I feel like I’m only just beginning to embark on the processes of learning and growth; in fact I’m very much in search of mentors myself. But I believe the mentoring relationship can and should be a two-way street. As I seek guidance in various facets of life and learning, I would like to contribute in the other direction as well—I’d love not only to give advice to people younger than me, but also work with those who are more experienced in almost every respect yet nonetheless might stand to gain from conversation or collaboration around the handful of areas in which I have a modicum of expertise.

I’ve been lucky to have some great experiences thus far, and I’d love to share them if you’re considering pursuing a similar path.

  • I graduated from Yale in 2011, having primarily studied photography and film. Since then, I’ve spent several years helping to build a community and instructional library for guitarists; I’ve done video editing, production, marketing, strategy, web development, and even some 3D product design.
  • During college I took a two-month trip to Peru and Argentina, doing a medium format photography project exploring questions of space and my relationship to the landscape. It was an amazing experience and a great introduction to the joy of independent travel, as well as my first extracurricular long-term/large-scale art project.
  • I’ve made several short films, including Walking on Eggshells: Borrowing Culture in the Remix Age (a documentary about appropriation, creative influence, re-use, and intellectual property) and Paperclip (narrative thesis for my film studies major).
  • I once had the thrill of opening for the Blue Scholars, an amazing Seattle hip-hop group that performed at my high school. Though I’ve neglected my rap career, I still consider myself a pretty cunning wordsmith, and always enjoy writing lyrics.
  • Lately I’ve been working on Antilibraries, a project collecting and “pre-reviewing” the best books I encounter but have not yet read. It started as a simple list of favorite books, and has expanded to a website and newsletter.
  • Over the past few years I’ve also done some experiments in self-directed learning, under the umbrella of what I call Self Starter’s Guide, creating learning events, resource collections, and more.
  • I have a variety of writing projects in the works, and am always trying to make more time to be creative. Other projects include exploring the changing practices of education and learning, investigating multimedia narrative structures, and thinking about the future of supporting and funding creativity.

If you’re interested in working together, I’d love to learn more about you. Write me a letter responding to the questions below, and I’ll write back within two weeks (my promise to you!) In response to the most thoughtful, provocative, and otherwise exceptional letters, I’ll propose further correspondence—and in certain cases, an ongoing mentoring relationship.

  • Tell me about yourself. How did you become who you are, and who do you want to become?
  • What’s the best thing you’ve read, watched, or listened to lately?
  • What work have you done that you’re proud of? (Link to relevant sites/projects where you can!)
  • What do you hope to learn/gain from this mentoring relationship? (Can be as vague or specific as you like.)

When ready, send it all via email and I’ll respond as soon as I can. We can begin with an email exchange, progress to video chat if mutually amenable, and meet in person if circumstances allow.

I look forward to learning together!