2026-07-072026-07-07http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/119560I have the rare experience of being on both sides of the mentor--undergraduate student relationship in the same program (Caltech's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, or SURF, program). In this essay, I will discuss how this background, coupled with my interdisciplinary education, has fundamentally shaped my mentoring style.9 pages, no figures, a shortened version of this article will appear in the Proceedings of the 2006 AMS/NSA Conference on Promoting Undergraduate Research in MathematicsPhysics EducationGeneral MathematicsPopular Physicstext