mĕn’ – tŏr: a wise and trusted counselor or teacher

Who was the first mentor? In The Odyssey, Mentor was Odysseus’s trusted counselor. In his guise, Athena became the guardian and teacher of his only son, Telemachus. 

A matter of trust. Mentoring is a structured and trusting relationship that brings young people together with caring individuals who offer guidance, support and encouragement aimed at developing the competence and character of the mentee. A mentor is an adult who, along with parents, provides a young person with support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and constructive example. Mentors are good listeners, people who care, people who want to help young people bring out strengths that are already there. A mentor is not a foster parent, therapist, parole officer or cool peer.

Courtesy of MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership.