Let's build the academia and the world we want to live in! January is National Mentoring Month (US) so Xine and Liz talk about how much success in academia is owed to mentors and the importance of paying it forward by mentoring. We discuss this emotional and gendered labor and, of course, the disproportionate (but important) burden placed on marginalized peoples in the academy. What should you know about being a mentor and about being a mentee? Thank you to all our wonderful mentors and support to all our mentees!