I was so glad to have the opportunity to meet with my mentee to answer a few questions, provide insight, and learn more about what he wants to do and what drives him. It was tremendously rewarding to meet such a bright, motivated young person and help him move toward his goals, and it feels good to pay forward all of the assistance and guidance that I was lucky enough to receive when starting out. I’m looking forward to continuing the mentorship role with him and others as time goes on.

I loved having the opportunity to meet with [my seeker].  She was so open, warm, and eager to learn about how I had navigated my career path and about some of the choices I made along the way.  While it became clear fairly early in our discussion that our career paths were not likely to be very similar, I felt that we connected and both benefitted from considering questions we posed to one another, including, for example, what we see as our greatest personal skills and gifts that we would hope to utilize in the workplace.  [The seeker] commented to me that she felt that was a good question that she had never really fully considered in that way.  After [the seeker] thoughtfully responded to this question, I’d like to think that she had a bit more clarify and direction that could prove helpful as she considers various job opportunities and her career path.  In the end, I walked away with much to think about myself and, if the truth be told, I likely benefitted from the meeting as much, if not more, than [the seeker], who is a truly remarkable person.

My first conversation with my mentor was incredibly organic, supportive, and fun. I learned a valuable perspective from her, that career paths aren’t always linear and are often enriched by your openness to opportunities. I intend to carry this with me on my career journey, and have greatly enjoyed our newly fostered relationship and correspondence.