FA M O U S M E N T O R R E L AT I O N S H I P S T O E M U L AT E C R E A T E D B Y R I C H A R D H O R O W I T Z

• It’s an important concept to remember that influential people have been influenced by a mentor at some point in their lives.

• Mentors motivate us and set examples and benchmarks for us to emulate, reach, and grow.

• Here are just a few famous mentor relationships that you can look at to help discover who your own mentor was, is, or should be…

• First is Oprah Winfrey and well-renowned poet and political activist, the late Maya Angelou.

• Oprah has referenced Maya Angelou’s profound, thought-provoking work numerous times on her hit talk show, stating: “‘Mentors are important and I don’t think anybody makes it in the world without some form of mentorship,’” (Merrill, Top 25 Mentoring Relationships Found in History).

• As a black female growing up in an age of intense segregation for both race and sex, Maya Angelou became a voice for minorities across the world, using her skills in language and the written word to make an impact on many lives - one that has changed Oprah Winfrey’s life forever.

• Next is the infamous musician Bob Dylan and famous folk singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie, both known for their powerful lyrics.

• Bob Dylan claims that he listened to Guthrie’s music all throughout his high school years and eventually moved to New York City to befriend his idol and learn from him.

• Both Dylan and Guthrie played and wrote music together for as long as they could, changing the way lyrics can be represented as a political-poetic standpoint, instead of most music then that emphasized vocal skills.

• Bob Dylan released his famous “Song to Woody” in 1962 as an ode to his beloved mentor.

• Another famous mentor relationship that you may not know too much about is abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock and his role model, Thomas Hart Benton.

• As both a painter and muralist known for his rhythmic use of paint, Pollock left California and moved to New York to study under Benton.

• In almost all of his later works, you will notice Benton’s uncanny influence on Pollock’s art.

• Last, Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the most influential leaders of the transcendentalist movement worked very closely with, and mentored, poet and transcendental writer Henry David Thoreau.

• Upon Thoreau’s graduation from Harvard University, Emerson’s work and viewpoint on the natural world was an immediate topic of interest, which eventually lead to his most famous piece of literature, Walden.

• In conclusion, these famous mentor relationships are ones to emulate and have undoubtedly sparked influence on other human beings who may not have reached the same level of success as they did, but have been substantially enlightened nonetheless.