Abstract
A sociocultural context of interruption and instability illuminated our teacher candidates' funds of knowledge and identity (e.g., Esteban-Guitart & Moll, 2014) during the global pandemic of 2020. Their expertise, skills, and self-understandings strengthened both the mentor-teacher candidate relationship and student engagement. Teacher candidates' stories about shifts to the virtual space demonstrated new possibilities for mentorship in the form of co-learning and co-reflecting (e.g., Canipe & Gunkel, 2020). By making the space to recognize and acknowledge the value of teachers' funds of knowledge and funds of identity (e.g., Hogg & Volman, in press), teacher educators can help structure mentoring relationships that lead to teacher candidates' initial sense of professional belonging, and potentially, their longevity in the profession.