Learn English – the meaning of “valence” in this sentence

meaning

From a New York times article about a summer program for poor students:

The valence among Vinay, Arshdeep and MD, and the 80 or so other
mentors and their mentees forms the backbone of a new summer program
called Practice Makes Perfect.

(source: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/mentoring-students-to-prevent-the-summer-slide/?hp&_r=0)

According to the Merriam Webster online dictionary, the (most relevant) definition of valence is

the degree of attractiveness an individual, activity, or thing
possesses as a behavioral goal

I don't see how that fits with how it's used in this sentence. What does valence mean here?

Best Answer

Valence

the capacity of one person or thing to react with or affect another in some special way, as by attraction or the facilitation of a function or activity.

Which is related to

Valence

In chemistry, valence, also known as valency or valence number, is the number of valence bonds a given atom has formed, or can form, with one or more other atoms

I believe he is talking about the special connections between the mentioned people

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