Mentoring: Personal Experience

I mentioned before how mentorship was a huge topic.  I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but this topic is so interesting to me because I have had some great mentors…so I want to mention it again.  Professors at Wellesley, coordinators at jobs, family, and even fellow students have all acted as mentors and have helped shape who I am today.

One particularly influential mentor was a former boss, the Executive Director (Priti Rao), of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus (MWPC) where I worked as an intern.  The MWPC’s  mission is to increase the number of women elected to public office and appointed to public policy positions.  Priti took me under her wing and gave me advice about everything from strategies for fundraising to what to expect when I studied abroad the next year (she even told me some great stories from her adventures!).  What I appreciated most was how she trusted me as an intern and gave me responsibility, so I felt like I was contributing to the organization. She helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses; specifically, that I like to work with people, organize events, write press releases, and fundraise.  She introduced me to women who were professionals on the board of the MWPC  and invited me to attend young professionals events.  Through meeting these women at the events, I was able to learn about a variety of jobs and discovered PR, the career I would like to have. Without her guidance, I would still feel lost about my aspirations.

Her mentoring and encouragement gave me the confidence to pursue other goals–which is why I think being a mentor is a goal all women (and men too!) should have.

P.S. Who has been a mentor in your life?