Social networks and mentoring Youth mentoring relationships are embedded within webs of other relationships. The many individuals in the social networks of both mentee and mentor, such as the mentee's parent or guardian, the mentor's coworker, or the mentoring program coordinator, are bound to influence the nature and course of the mentor-mentee relationship. In turn, the mentoring relationship can influence the ways in which the mentor and mentee interact with other important people in their lives. Likewise, the mentoring relationship itself will alter the structure and quality of these social networks, if only by virtue of the new bond between mentee and mentor. Situating the mentoring relationship within its complex interpersonal environment provides a more comprehensive and accurate view of mentoring as a systemic intervention (Keller, 2005b), in which relationships are viewed as interdependent and “the quality of one relationship influences and is, in turn, influenced by other relationships”