The Alphabettes Mentorship Program was an international, volunteer based program that connects Mentors in the fields of type, typography or the lettering arts with Mentees of all experience levels. Mentoring is a fantastic tool to empower others, grow confidence and new skills, and both our Mentors and Mentees have found the relationship both transformative and fulfilling.
The program was built and operated by a team of dedicated volunteers: Bianca Berning, Luisa Baeta, Eleni Beveratou, Veronika Burian, Shani Avni, Alessia Mazzarella, Katy Mawhood, Liron Lavi Turkenich, Sophia Tai, Isabel Urbina Peña.
We run an annual term for Mentees. Throughout the year, we were actively seeking available Mentors to support this wonderful, enriching community and improve opportunities for Mentees to immerse themselves in the industry.
Since Alphabettes operated on a basis of trans inclusivity and supports and promotes the work of all women and non-binary people in our fields, every pairing centred a woman as either Mentee or Mentor (or both).
We invited volunteers to sign up as a Mentors anytime, and share thier valuable insight with Mentees as part of our bi-annual program. Our mentorships connected Mentors with students, newcomers and experienced professionals seeking guidance in the fields of type, typography or the lettering arts.
Our mentorships gave Mentees the chance to focus on development areas in the fields of type, typography or the lettering arts that were important to them and their future career.
Once we received the application form, we started the Matchmaking Process to pair a Mentee with a Mentor who was best suited to their goals. As we had a limited volunteer team, it took time to process applications and find the great match for each Mentee.
For more details we provided a Mentee Guide, FAQ and blog posts.
The Alphabettes Mentorship Program was announced in 2016 as one of Alphabettes’ community outreach activities. It was a fully volunteer-based program with a fixed organisational team and an amazing network of Mentors around the world. We were so thankful and humbled by our Mentors’ generosity in helping to guide the inspirational journeys of Mentees in the fields of type, typography, or the lettering arts.
Our goal was to improve opportunities for people at every level, by connecting Mentees with Mentors who can share their knowledge and experience to give guidance. We emphasised that mentorships are not to be confused with free of charge consultation or private tuition. The bulk of Mentees sought portfolio, career or educational guidance. Some Mentees simply looked for a sounding board or an opportunity to discuss type related topics, and understand how they can get more involved in the wider community.
Our intention was to make the best possible match between Mentee and Mentor. We cultivated openness by pairing mentorships around the world and gave consideration to conversational language skills, preferred duration and time zones. This process was time consuming, as we had a limited volunteer team analysing Mentee applications to understand their specific needs.
To overcome various difficulties, delays we experienced in the past years, and to ensure a smooth journey for both Mentees and Mentors, we have decided to limit the number of Mentees applicants to 20 participants in 2023. And we no longer accepted male mentee applicants. It is not a decision we took lightly but we could no longer ignore the limitations of being a small team of volunteers. Each Mentee/Mentor pair, was assigned one team member who periodically checked-in to ensure everyone is still happy with the arrangement, and/or discuss and help to solve any possible problems.
FAQ
What will you do with my application information?
How are Mentees and Mentors matched?
Who will be my mentor?
How often will we meet?
Where do we meet?
Who is eligible to apply as a Mentee?
I am male, can I apply?
Who is eligible to become a Mentor?
Tell me more about being a Mentor?
- Not sure you could be a mentor? If you are unsure you are a good fit to join as a Mentor send us message and we will chat with you about it. Most likely you ARE a great fit, and can really help making a change in people’s lives ❤️️
- Worried about the commitment? If this is a busy time for you, you can sign up for as little as a 1 month program (about 4 sessions).Moreover, you get to decide with the Mentee your preferred method of communication: Zoom, email, Slack or a combination.
- How is the schedule? The sessions are flexible in time and dates, and you set them with your Mentee in a way which will make it work for both of you.
- Will I need to be a mentor forever? We have two annual terms: spring and autumn. After every term, we check in and confirm with you that you are happy to continue. However, if you feel like you need a break, you can always pause.
- What if I’m not a type designer? We have so many topics that Mentees are seeking guidance on: research, education, lettering, font production, business, writing, typography. If you are in type, you can be a huge help.
- Can only women be a mentor? Not at all! Everyone is welcome. Since Alphabettes is a network supporting woman, we centre a woman in every pair.