Mentorship Fuels Mentorship
On Monday night I was honored to moderate a webinar featuring Syracuse and Sport Management alumnae that work in the sport + entertainment world; the event was co-hosted by the SU Women's Empowerment Project and Women in Sports and Events (WISE) at SU, two student organizations that focus on women supporting women.
Last night I got to chat with the Pitt Athletics intern squad to share my story and answer questions about navigating the sport industry. I'm also working with my sorority - Kappa Kappa Gamma - on their annual Kappa Kareer Day next month which will include panels of Beta Tau alumnae sharing their stories about navigating their careers in a variety of industries. I just finished up our Emerging Leaders Council fall board meeting and am fired up with excitement of all of the possibilities we have for our students and each other as Orange colleagues. Telling my story, guiding others, and providing insight to young people has turned me into a professional "career cheerleader;" mentorship always seems to be the fuel to my fire!
I truly landed naturally (with a lot of moves across the US between Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, and Tennessee) into my career: a mix of hard work, good fortune, and great timing coupled with people that shepherded me along the way. The opportunity to do what my former supervisors and biggest fans did for me for the next generation of industry leaders fuels my passion to come to work every single day. Everything that I do could fall under the category of "mentorship," but it's important to know that not all of your connections are mentors.
Mentors are people in your life that truly care about you and your well being; you've built a strong relationship with them, so strong that when you go to them for help, it's not at all random. In fact, the mentor most likely feels good to know that he/she is that person that you can lean on and trust when you need it the most. I have a handful of people that I know if I text them right now and ask for help - even if we haven't reconnected in a while - they will help me, no questions asked.
A mentor relationship takes time to build and can be found in many ways. My cheerleading coach in high school was absolutely my first mentor, and the lessons I learned from her (not to mention fond memories of 5:45am practices before school!) stick with me today. Coach had to talk to me when I got in trouble for talking back to a teacher (or two...sorry, mom), she was there for me when I went through a breakup, and she motivated me to be the ultimate team player.
When I got to college I found guidance from my faculty and internship supervisors. Once I graduated, my first boss out of college made me feel comfortable moving to Florida without family around (and supported our ridiculous promotional night videos that included Chuck Norris, mustaches, and mini swimming pools in the office), and I've had multiple former students go to work for him since. Another mentor I met while working at Memphis; she started as an industry leader that reviewed my resume and helped me build my collegiate athletics network. Soon after, she became one of my dearest friends and colleagues in both the business AND dating world, supporting each other along the way (and she got married this past weekend)! It was my direct report when I was working at Duquesne University that served as the ultimate mentor for me professionally, showing me how to be a leader, respected supervisor, AND friend. He is who I aspire to be as both a leader, supervisor, and colleague.
Mentors are truly special humans and should be treated as such. If you find someone that is your person to help navigate your journey, hang on tight. Nurture that relationship. Handle with care.
And if you can, be the same kind of special human to others along the way. Mentorship fuels mentorship, I'm convinced, and the more we can foster relationships for good will make us all better human beings in the end.
#Cost2020 #Mentorship #StudentVoices