Many music teachers serve as mentors to university music education majors each year: some for brief periods or a few hours each week and others amidst semester-long student teaching internships. This session will provide mentors with valuable insights on music teacher education and adult development today. Such insights may help explain why many preservice music educators vary in confidence and involvement in classrooms. Here we will also share and discuss varied strategies that can empower mentors to meaningfully guide mentees through this crucial stage of development, resulting in benefits for all—including, importantly, our K-12 music students! This session is for current mentors and those who are interested in starting to take on such a role.