Mentoring Spotlight: Kendra Long

Kendra Long is the Archivist at 4S Bay Partners, and has been a VRA member since April/May of 2019.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background, and how you got (or hope to get) into the field of visual resources?

I finished my masters of library science in May of 2019. My undergrad was in film production, and I worked as a researcher on feature films until I got burned out from working freelance after a few years. I knew I wanted to stay in film or at least visual media at large, but I needed something full time and consistent. I ended up going back to school for my MLS in archives with the goal of being a film archivist.

Which VRA mentoring activity did you participate in recently?

Year-Round Mentee.

What outcomes did you seek during your mentoring activity?

Networking, professional guidance, and resume and cover letter reviews.

Briefly tell us about who you were matched with.

I was matched with Kendra Werst, who is the Assistant Visual Resources Curator at Williams College.

What was your motivation for participating in the mentoring activity?

The only people I had to bounce ideas off of or to seek advice on the job hunt from were other students in the same position as me -- looking for work, uncertain how to find a job that respected me, unsure if I was qualified for anything.

What aspects of the activity did you find the most valuable, and why?

Honestly just being able to chat with Kendra through Slack has been huge. She's looked over my resume probably a dozen times now, and has reviewed basically every cover letter I've submitted since she became my mentor, and having the perspective of somebody my age who's already gotten a job has made a huge difference. I can ask her anything about the job hunt or working in the field and she's always there to answer me.

Do you have any words of advice or wisdom for any of our members who may be thinking about participating in VRA's mentoring activities?

You don't need to have 25 years of experience under your belt to be a mentor. Being around just to bounce ideas off of is enough. I'm incredibly grateful to what Kendra's been able to help me through.

You can meet Kendra at VRA 2020 in Baltimore!

Need some guidance in the Visual Resources field? Let our mentors show you the ropes! Visit our VRA Mentorship page to learn more! httpS://vraweb.org/opportunities/mentorship

Have you had a great VRA mentoring experience? We would love to hear about it! Contact the Mentor Coordinator to find out to share your story here!