DD is a HS student attending summer research program away from home. Tomorrow is her mentor’s birthday. What is the appropriate gift? Is a gift card appropriate? If yes, what $ amount? She is staying on campus so she cannot go shopping for a gift. She can probably get her Starbucks card or something similar.
She doesn’t need to get her mentor anything.
I realize she does not have to, but she wants to give some token of appreciation since she is really nice and helpful. And her mentor is a grad student, not a professor.
Sometimes a heart felt, handwritten note means more than a token gift. Can she go to the campus bookstore and get nice card or stationary and write something from the heart that she really means? Sometimes mentors don’t know what kind of impact they are having and the nicest gift is to know how you have positively influenced someone’s life.
I think a Starbucks card is perfect, and $10 is fine. My sister is a teacher and loves getting them. She even know the ‘Today’s coffee is from Natalie’ or “Thanks, Hannah, loved the mocha today.” She really does. Most of her students are pretty low income, so even a $5 card means the family was thinking of the teacher today, and the amount doesn’t matter.
A card with a nice note would be fine. Adding a small Starbucks card, a box of candy or something along those lines would be nice/appropriate as well.
Thank you everyone. Originally I was thinking like $15 gift card from the Starbucks. DD told me that the other kid from the program, but with the different mentor, gave his professor $50 gift card. $50 seems like overkill, but 10-15 I would think is appropriate. Now I am thinking that maybe just a handwritten card.
Don’t do the gift card. Really, don’t.
How about a nice coffee mug? Or a framed picture of the whole team?
She stays on campus and is not allowed to leave the campus to go shopping. So this should be something she can buy at the student store or a walking distance from the campus.
Coffee mugs and picture frames are Internet-able, too.
@JustOneDad Great idea, unfortunately mentor’s birthday is tomorrow.
Maybe it could be a “I’m so sorry to have to leave, but thank you for the opportunity” gift.
When I was an undergrad, I got my mentor something small from the bookstore for her birthday. Usually the school bookstore has cute and/or useful things, like stuffed animals, coffee mugs or water bottles, candy, etc. She could also get a card to write something nice in.
But other than just shopping around the bookstore, a gift card sounds like a great gift to me.
I have gotten my mentor/boss (a full professor at a medical college) the same thing for Christmas every year - his favorite cookies, his favorite candy, and a homemade cheesecake. It doesn’t cost much, but he looks forward to it every year.
I agree with the note…
Post #4: A teacher announcing to her class “Today’s coffee is from Natalie”, and “Thanks, Hannah, I loved the mocha today” sounds a bit inappropriate to me and could make other students feel bad that their family can’t afford a Starbucks gift card for the teacher.
I think the handwritten heartfelt note and a $5 Starbucks card would be appropriate
She didn’t announce it, she just thought it in her car as she was going through the drive thru, Madison. She thinks of her students all the time. Many in her class can’t afford anything for the teacher and that is just fine. Others make her little things, some make cards. Anything or nothing is okay, just as it would be for the original poster’s daughter to do something small or nothing at all. Appreciated, not required.
That wasn’t clear in your original post - couldn’t quite understand what you meant when you said “She even know the…”