Pulling together a volume on mentoring has been both exciting and daunting. Mentoring as an informal relationship supporting individual interpreters has occurred for individuals for many many years. And, for years, we in the fields of interpreting and interpreting education have discussed the need to provide more fonnalized, direct support for new interpreters entering our profession. More recently, we have been looking for ways to identify effective approaches to mentoring both novice, entering interpreters, and long-time, experienced interpreters. The chapters in this volume reflect the progress and exciting innovations that have been implemented in aid of this goal. We see the impact of mentoring in its many forms, theories, and models for mentoring programs, and are now able to learn from projects and programs that have gone beyond simple implementation to structured evaluations and inf01med assessments of the impact of programs. As editors, we have struggled to find a logical way to frame the submissions that were chosen for this volume, valuing the extraordinary perspectives of each, and wondering how best to share the wisdom, expertise, experience, and achievements that the authors bring to this shared resource. In the spirit of a non-directive, mentee-centered philosophy, we left the topics/domains open to interpretation by the contributing authors. Rather than attempting to constrain the submissions, we felt it was important that each contribution was reflective of what the individual authors wanted to express regarding mentoring. We hope we have been successful in this approach as demonstrated by the depth, breadth, and variety of areas covered in the chapters. We are grateful to each of the contributing authors for engaging with us in this process. The volume could have been organized in many ways, and of course, each of you will read the chapters as they have special relevance to you. However, considering a text as a linear journey from start to end (whether you chose to read it that way or a different way), we have chosen to open the volume with an eloquent reflection about the impact and value of mentoring throughout the course of an interpreting career. Lori Whynot, in her chapter Mentorship as a Career Philosophy, shares an in-depth reflection on her learning and experiences of mentoring throughout her career, intertwining experience, knowledge, expertise, and hard-earned wisdom to bring us to a new understanding of the long- and short tenn values mentoring offers. Having read about the value and benefits of mentoring for an individual, the next several chapters provide insights into definitions of mentoring, the understandings of what mentoring may offer, and the perceived and real need for mentoring in our field. In the chapter, A European Perspective on Mentoring, Maya de Wit, Elke Schaumberger, and Marinelia Salami share the findings of a needs assessment about mentoring conducted with interpreters in three European countries, underlining the essential need to first understand how mentoring is perceived, and to then design and develop programs to address those understandings and needs. The next chapter by Suzanne Ehrlich, £-mentoring: Exploring the Relationship Between Mentoring, Technology, and Community, provides a discussion of the intricate inter relationships that combine to impact the success of mentoring practices. The perspective of modem technologies as an integral factor in many mentoring settings is an insightful integration of mentoring with technology.
