Page 14 - NEWS_MayJune_80-3_final

May/Jun 2023 | Vol. 80 No. 3
Membership & Expansion Committee:

The Importance of Mentoring

entoring of new members at both the chapter and international levels is an ongoing key focus for the
M2022–2024 International Membership and Expansion Committee (MEC). This is one of eight objectives
the committee is focusing on throughout the biennium, including those in areas such as membership trends,
value of membership, diversity in membership, mentoring, member recognition in different fields of education,
and barriers within the Society’s culture and structure.
We traditionally think of mentoring — the act or process of helping and guiding another person to support
their personal and professional development — as a chapter activity; however, members of the International
MEC also have a role in the mentoring of DKG members, especially DKG’s newer members.

To support each chapter, regional representatives of the
MEC invite new members from their area to participate in Interactions at the
Zoom meetings at the 3-month and 9-month marks of each chapter level...can
new biennium. These meetings provide an opportunity for
new members to share how things are going, how engaged make or break our
they are in their chapter through meeting attendance and Society!
committee work, how welcomed they feel, whether DKG is

meeting their expectations, what questions they have about DKG, and what organizational leaders can do at the
international level to make members’ experiences better. At their 6-month anniversary, new members receive a
Google Form survey that provides them another opportunity to share how things are going.
Mentoring efforts shouldn’t end there, though. The mentoring of new members should be a priority at the
chapter level just as much as it is at the international level. As President LeBlanc said in her “At the Crossroads:
Consider Culture” article (DKG NEWS, Nov/Dec 2022, Vol. 79 No. 6), “Interactions at the chapter level are powerful
and clearly can make or break our Society!”
Mentoring can be as formal or informal as a chapter wants. It begins with the invitation to join DKG, continues
at the orientation, and is carried on at all meetings and events with the support of the resources provided by the

MEC. A member who just celebrated her 27th anniversary with DKG shared that she was initially mentored by
the person who invited her to join. Her mentor made sure she attended meetings, invited her to ride with her to
meetings, and got her involved on committees. Two other chapter members also mentored this person, helping
her to meet and interact with others by having her pass out reports or other information fellow chapter members
needed. All three of her mentors answered questions and helped her understand what was being discussed.
This person’s experience is a wonderful example of things your chapter can do to help retain members. The
International MEC knows that the more a member is engaged in the activities of the chapter, the more likely she

is to stick around. At its core, mentoring guarantees new members that someone cares about them. It makes
them feel that they are important and that they matter. Mentoring is an easy way to make all new members feel
welcome and engaged in their chapter and in DKG as a whole.
The 2022–2024 International Membership and Expansion Committee is committed to helping both individual
chapters and the Society at large with their mentoring efforts. Contact your regional representative or Trish
Woodley, DKG Membership Director, with any questions, comments, or concerns. You will also find links to
contact members of the committee on the DKG website: About Us> Committees> Membership and Expansion.

14