SHEAR is creating an informal mentorship program between graduate students and junior to mid-level scholars of early American history. This mentorship program is designed to be an ongoing relationship to help to demystify the opacity of the historical profession as graduate students work their way through early career milestones. The program is open to scholars across disciplinary interests, backgrounds, and career trajectories. Participants are required to adhere to SHEAR’s Statement of Values and be members of SHEAR. (Note: If a mentee and/or a mentee’s graduate program is unable to pay the membership fee–only $30 for students–we hope that mentors would be open to sponsoring their mentee. At the same time, we do not want to turn anyone away from this program, so please be in touch if you need help finding funding for the membership fee.)

Mentors will be scholars of early American history at the junior to mid-level (including recent PhDs), and mentees will be advanced graduate students. Mentors and mentees will be matched based on their own professional goals (whether they’d like to be matched based on area of specialization, career track, background, etc.). Once matched, mentors and mentees will decide for themselves how to navigate their relationship going forward (virtual meetings, in person at SHEAR, etc.). Mentors are encouraged to consider the needs of their mentees in this regard.

Please fill out this form by March 1 to indicate your interest in and commitment to the program. The organizers will match mentors and mentees in accordance with participants’ responses, and reach out via email with preliminary steps in the program in early spring, including a potential coffeehouse-style meetup over Zoom in early spring. The program will officially launch to coincide with SHEAR’s 2023 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia (both in-person and virtual meetings between mentors and mentees available).

**Thanks to those who responded to our request for comments on the development of the mentorship program last fall—please also fill out this form if you are still interested in participating as a mentor or mentee.**

Feel free to reach out to Emily Arendt (emily.arendt@msubillings.edu), Jacqueline Beatty (jbeatty@ycp.edu), or Nora Slonimsky (nslonimsky@iona.edu) with any questions.