Peer Career Consultant Blogs

No matter what major you are within the business school, I cannot stress the importance of mentorship in developing oneself both professionally and personally.  Over the course of my time at Santa Clara, I’ve learned to embrace the process of adjusting to college and the job search; however, I owe a lot of who I’ve become to my mentors. Over the last few years, I’ve grown to both appreciate and strengthen my relationships with my mentors by shifting my paradigm from ‘how can they help me’ to ‘what can I learn from them? And what can they learn from me’. The tension between heeding their wisdom and creating an authentic relationship was what drew me to appreciate my mentors more.

 But why is mentorship so important?

 A mentor can be anyone you look up to and know both professionally or personally. I’ve been fortunate over my time to have mentors who are both professional and personal; in fact, some of my professional mentors have become some of my closest friends. Mentors are people that you meet with on a regular basis (bi-weekly, monthly, yearly) who have more experience than you and are able to coach, listen and give advice when necessary. More simply, mentors are there to walk with you through your unpredictable journey of life.

 I’ve been able to reflect on myself, my values, and career goals through mentorship. Specifically, my close friend and mentor Justin Segal (from Vancouver, BC) has walked with me through the last 4 years of life. We talk about fashion, philosophy, values and career trajectory. He has inspired me to become a well-rounded human by participating in philanthropy despite a busy work schedule. His mentorship over the years has helped ground me in the decisions that I make. As one embarks on their professional career, I feel as though everyone should prioritize finding mentors that can help ground them as life gets busy. Overall, mentorship can provide different things for different people; however, one constant throughout different mentors I engage with is a willingness to listen and provide wisdom when needed.

Something I’ve been called to recently is providing mentorship to younger students within the business school. Over my time at SCU, I’ve had mentors through ACE and I’ve grown to appreciate being a mentor to others. Through the PCC Program and being a ‘Buddy’ in ACE, I feel as though it is important to pay it forward and help mentor younger students who might be going through similar stresses and problems as you. I certainly had my fair share of stressful days and I appreciated older students taking time out of their busy schedule to listen to me.