I wear many hats as a chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM). I am an instructor, educator, US Army veteran, competition coach and more. The role I have recently spent a lot of time investing in is: How can I be a better mentor for my students?

In my role as a chef instructor, I pass my knowledge, skills, experience and “secret techniques” to the foodservice industry’s future. As an educator, I help students become more professional within the industry and beyond. My time in the United States Army shaped me into a resilient leader that has been beneficial in every facet of my career as a chef educator and in life.

I want to specify this first: I view coaching and mentoring as two different things. For me, coaching is helping my students achieve the best possible result with their skill sets. I have coached many individual students and teams to perform at their highest level. Pushing them to limits they did not know they had - that is how you get the best out of them. But mentoring is a whole different ballgame.

We have a mentorship program in place here at CIM. Every new incoming student is assigned a faculty member as their mentor to help facilitate their needs as they progress through the program. We reach out to our mentees each semester at a minimum to get updates, see how they are doing, and see how we can help them. However, not all students want to engage with us in a mentorship capacity and we cannot force that. I still try to find ways to engage in mentorship with not just my mentees but with all the CIM students. I want to develop good culinarians and good humans to send out into the world once they leave the CIM. I love the random text messages I get from former students to remind me to drink water and to “dominate.”

The most important part of being a mentor is being there for them. As a chef instructor, I have the means to encourage students’ professional growth. Mentoring is creating and cultivating a relationship with a student that encourages personal growth. Greet them when you see them every day and ask how they are doing. Be active in their progress through the program. Find ways to connect with them that go above and beyond the norm. The most important part about being a mentor is taking time to listen and respect them as human beings.

It is important for me to create an environment that is not only supportive but also engaging and inviting. I am sure students think I am overly enthusiastic when I encourage them to do things they don’t want to do and, in the end, they are happy they did them. I want to be a safe space where students know they can feel comfortable talking with me and are allowed to be vulnerable. Sometimes it may get emotional but being that safe space and shoulder to cry on may be the exact thing they need.

Building an emotional bond allows them the opportunity to speak freely and creating that bond helps build a strong mentor/mentee relationship. It helps the student learn and grow but it can also help you become a better instructor, educator, coach and mentor. I have a student who sometimes helps balance me out because she knows how “extra” I can be. She’s not afraid to tell me, “It is ok to bring it down a notch,” because we have taken time to build a great mentor/mentee relationship.  

Here is a recent example of a mentorship coming full circle. A student asked me for advice about what path he should take when he graduated. He had an opportunity to make decent money if he took a new position that was offered to him. But, he was already employed in a job he liked. My advice to him was that it is not always about the money but about putting yourself in a position to continue learning under someone willing to take the time to mentor you. Upon graduation, he decided to follow the money.

Recently, he was invited to sit on our advisory board meeting as a graduate and representative. He told the story of his CIM experience. He also said his biggest regret after graduation was not putting himself into a position to continue his growth. It meant a lot for me to hear that because I made an impact on him. That is all I can ask for as a mentor.

Mentorship is such an important role. I realize I hold the capacity to change someone’s life. I can inspire students in every decision I make as a chef, educator, coach and mentor. I keep all the letters/messages, pictures, thank you notes, and weird drawings students have given me. They are hanging on a corkboard above my desk. They mean something to me and are my daily reminder that what I do matters. I have done my job if I changed at least one life. But, I want to inspire as many people as I can. In the words of Hamilton: “Legacy. What is a Legacy? It is planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”

The reason I strive to be the best mentor I can be is because I wish I had had that person or mentor to push me to be the best version of myself. I don’t want students to have a similar, “If I would have known then what I know now,” moment. I want to help them make the best professional and personal decisions possible. I always wish I could do more to help mentor students, but as I said before, not every student wants to be mentored. However, if they ask if you want a secret handshake … get yourself a secret handshake. YOU ARE IN!

Amanda N. Miller, CC, CPC, is a culinary arts/baking & pastry arts Instructor at the Culinary Institute of Michigan – Muskegon, which is a Division of Baker College. She is also the winner of the 2020 Postsecondary Educator of the Year award sponsored by CAFÉ and the Sysco Corporation.