On Mentors

What makes someone a mentor, dear readers? Is it their gift of attention, time, and honest feedback? Is it someone who is in your corner even when there’s nothing in it for them? Or maybe it’s simpler: a mentor helps you become the person you want to be, even when you’re not sure who that is yet.

Sure. All of that and a pair of spectacles.

I don’t usually write grateful, mushy pieces. For better and worse, I’m more comfortable critiquing than celebrating. But I’m in a happy place today and I want to acknowledge and celebrate some of the people who shaped me over the years.

I’ll start at the beginning.

Avi Ben-Zeev was my PhD advisor at Brown University. Actually, he was my second advisor—my first was denied tenure. Scrambling to find someone new after realizing my first advisor’s termination would derail my entire career was no fun. But once I started working with Avi, I understood what an advisor could be. An Israeli from a working-class background, Avi got me. He gave me the freedom I n…