Natalia Vélez, last updated August 2022
In my research, I spend a lot of my time thinking about how individuals navigate the challenges that come with working together, and how community structures can make collaborations easier and fairer. Now, as a mentor and new PI, I’m excited to translate these questions into practice. My goal is to build a community where the next generation of cognitive scientists can work together, learn from one another, and make lasting contributions to our understanding of human cognition and behavior. My approach to mentorship is shaped by these values:
Joining a new lab is a great adventure. Over the next few years, the ideas we develop and the work we do together will have a lasting impact on our lab’s research program. As PI, I see it as my primary responsibility to build and maintain an environment where mentees can thrive.
At a basic level, that means that you can expect me to provide the resources and infrastructure you need, and that I will work alongside you to plan, execute, and communicate your projects. You can also expect me to help you troubleshoot obstacles as they arise, and to connect you to resources outside of the lab as needed. For your part, I expect you to arrive prepared for our meetings; to document as much as you can, including next steps, analysis decisions, and progress on your projects; and to communicate clearly with me when something breaks, or when mistakes or conflicts happen.
As we work together, I expect us to hold our work to a high standard. This means that I expect you to maintain steady progress on your projects—or to talk to me sooner than later if you are stuck—and to plan and design experiments carefully. We will also share our analysis code, data, and experiment materials as openly as we can, and try our best to document them. In turn, you can expect me to celebrate your work and to work hard to advocate for you. At a basic level, that means that I will be on top of your graduation milestones and will help you meet your career goals. Beyond that, I will strive to support your travel to conferences, help you write grants, and nominate you for awards. You can expect me to highlight your contributions in talks and in any other public-facing work. If you decide to pursue a career outside of academia, you can also expect me to support you in that transition.
In the day-to-day, you can expect me to care about you as a whole person. I will celebrate your successes and strive to support you through challenges, and I will put your health and wellbeing first. For your part, I expect you to find and nurture the things that sustain you, including building a supportive community at Princeton. Finally, I see mentorship as a lifelong relationship—you can reach out and expect me to continue to support you after our time working together is over.
The first members of any new lab have an outsized impact on its culture and practices. My role is to empower lab members to shape the community to meet their needs. For my part, you can expect me to be transparent about the workings of our lab, e.g., to keep our lab up-to-date on where our funding is coming from (and to provide grant materials on request), to seek input from the lab during hiring and admissions, and to involve the lab in decisions about our practices, values, and infrastructure. In turn, I expect my trainees to be good citizens of the lab and of the department. That means I expect you to be generous with each other with your time and ideas; to give each other feedback graciously; to do your best to support each other; to share your voice in decisions about the future of the lab; and to be a good mentor to your own students and RAs.
As a new mentor, I have a lot to learn! I hope to create a lab culture where people feel comfortable giving me feedback, both good and bad. For my part, you can expect me to take this feedback seriously, and to approach our working relationship with a spirit of curiosity—ready to tweak and critically evaluate my mentoring practices.
This statement is a living document—it likely will change over the years, as I learn from my mentees. I can’t wait to embark on this adventure together.