Mentorship

I think the word "mentor" is thrown around pretty casually when talking about a relationship between two young people. Honestly, how vested is a kid about to be in another kid's success? It is rarely that his focus is not set on the minutia of his own life; something as universal as helping people seems to escape most children. What can a mentor, who is himself a child, offer to another child? Guidance?

Childhood is all about making mistakes, and the prefrontal cortex doesn't even fully develop until age 25. Beyond that, an adolescent has very limited power to "make something happen" in another's life - like referring that person to a job interview, or getting them an introduction to someone important.

My senior year of high school, I was in a program called "Senior Mentors" - though I'd hesitate to call what we did "mentoring" - which paired a few seniors with each freshman homeroom. Every two weeks or so, we (the mentors) would talk to the room full of freshmen about some predesignated topic, like drugs & alcohol, extracurricular activities, or preparing for college. Wait just a minute. First off, I know some of these kids had done things I couldn't even imagine doing. Secondly, I'm in band. That's my extracurricular. Nobody wants to sign up for that instant label. Third, I'm not in college yet, I have no idea what it's going to be like and what to do as a freshman to prepare for it.

I took the program seriously. I did what I could and answered questions to the best of my knowledge. I don't think it changed anyone's life though.

As for being mentored, my dad is who I've always called (and continue to call) for advice. And as I transition more into career mode, I expect that mentorship capacity will become even more important. He has three decades of experience in the industry I want to be in, doing what I want to do. I will invariably hesitate before asking him to pull any strings for me though. I the four years I will have spent grinding out this degree to get me something based on my own merit.