A mentor serves as a role model, coach, and confidante, offering knowledge, insight, perspective, or wisdom useful to the mentee. They encourage learning and suggest steps to improve your professional self whether as an assigned mentor or not. You may find your mentor at any point in your career, as a resident, new Diplomate, or experienced veterinary surgery practitioner.

The Honor a Mentor Program is a wonderful way to personally acknowledge your mentor’s contribution to you and the College. In appreciation of this special relationship, the ACVS Foundation offers you the opportunity to say “thank you” to the ACVS Diplomate who has helped pave the way for your success.

All funds raised for the Honor a Mentor program go to the ACVS Foundation’s general fund to support its mission to improve the surgical care and treatment of all animals through education and research.

Honored Mentors

When a mentor is honored, the ACVS Foundation informs the mentor of the tribute and presents them with a certificate. Further recognition includes a page on the ACVS website that includes pictures and quotations that reflect on the honored mentor’s impact and accomplishments as a mentor. Honored mentors are also acknowledged in the ACVS Surgery Summit program. If your mentor has already been honored, you may still donate. Your mentor will be informed of this new donation, and your name will be added to the donor list on the mentor’s webpage.

How to initiate honoring a mentor

A minimum donation of only $100 is needed to initiate honoring a mentor.

Mentors with cumulative donations less than $1,000 are listed on the website as being on their way to being honored and additional donations are encouraged. You may nominate a mentor and then find others to help honor your mentor.

When cumulative donations for an individual mentor reach $1,000 or more, the mentor is honored. You may still donate if your mentor has already been honored. Your mentor will be informed of this new donation, and your name will be added to the donor list on the mentor’s webpage.

Mentors on the way to being honored

When cumulative donations for an individual mentor reach $1,000 or more, the mentor is honored. Contribute now and contact your colleagues to help recognize these mentors.