I am extremely happy with my decision to become a professional mentor via Ambition In Motion. I was able to connect with my mentee and form a genuine, close relationship which I am certain will continue into the future. Through my experience as a mentor, I have been able to discover what makes a professional mentor-mentee relationship truly impactful. 

It is one thing to simply ask a mentee about their goals, but another thing to get to know them on a personal and professional level, finding out what their long-term career dreams are, and working with them to outline a plan that helps them achieve their goals allows for a better, more personalized mentorship experience with more accurate goals that can be achieved. 

It has been demonstrated that you can absolutely achieve goals and develop a cordial relationship by strictly talking business. On the other hand, I have found, in my experience, that taking the time to learn more about your mentee, getting to know their personal and professional backgrounds, asking them what is going on in their life, and being interested in them as a friend, fosters a sense of trust and allows for a deeper connection that will enrich you both as a mentor/mentee, and as an individual. 

This was not only a positive experience for my mentee to gain some guidance and perspective on their professional endeavors, but was also an opportunity for me to grow not only as a mentor, but also as a professional. One of my favorite quotes is: “when you aren’t learning and growing, you aren’t living.” This quote applies so well to this situation. In life, we should all strive to never stop learning, growing, and improving ourselves. Being a mentor has given me the chance to grow by spreading my own wings and becoming introspective on the experiences I have had and the lessons that I have learned. I have also been able to learn from my mentee, which was a valuable part of this whole experience. Even though my role was to be a source of advice and guidance for my mentee, my mentee had other valuable life and work experiences that I was able to learn from and apply to my own life and career. 
This “give and take” was a pleasant surprise and added benefit of this already beneficial program. 

If asked to participate as a professional mentor again, I plan to participate again with absolute certainty. I am so thankful for this chance to help someone grow, and for myself to grow as well.