Honors Career Mentorship Program
Gaining Confidence & Connection through Mentorship
I was delighted to hear at the beginning of my senior year that the Honors program was beginning a career mentorship program, connecting current Honors students starting to consider their post-graduation plans with Honors alumni with the experience and willingness to help them navigate those decisions. As a senior, it had already been a pertinent question on my mind, and the pilot program seemed to be timed perfectly. I felt it would be very valuable to have some guidance in navigating the process and questions of what I want to do after graduation.
Through this opportunity I hoped to make a connection and build a mutually beneficial relationship with a mentor, to find guidance and support throughout the process of searching for and applying to jobs, for perspective, insights, and lessons offered from someone with more experience, and I hoped that it would generate challenging questions that would provoke thoughtful self-reflection and offer opportunities to consider that may not have occurred to me on my own.
Over the course of Autumn Quarter, I have had the extreme honor of having Marcie Stone as my Honors career mentor. A '69 graduate of the Honors Program herself, Marcie is incredibly committed--even in retirement--to the wide array of causes and communities she invests herself in, and she is an active advocate of higher education. Marcie has been helping me to explore a number of potential opportunities. Through her many connections and willingness to use them she has connected me with several people involved in fields of environmental activism, medical advocacy, and midwifery. But most of all I appreciate the connection and the support she herself provides, and the opportunity to have a one-on-one continuing conversation through which to explore my future with someone willing to take the time to invest in me personally and to genuinely care. And all the while I’ve enjoyed learning about her, her consistent commitment and enthusiasm about being involved and giving back to the community, and the many values and qualities we seem to have in common. Having Marcie's support, interest, and guidance, as well as her advocacy as I explore my own interests, values, and goals has inspired me with confidence in navigating what it is I want to do with my future, the steps to pursue it, and having the courage to follow through.
At the beginning of the quarter I made the following list of some of the most important things I'm looking for in a career:
Through this opportunity I hoped to make a connection and build a mutually beneficial relationship with a mentor, to find guidance and support throughout the process of searching for and applying to jobs, for perspective, insights, and lessons offered from someone with more experience, and I hoped that it would generate challenging questions that would provoke thoughtful self-reflection and offer opportunities to consider that may not have occurred to me on my own.
Over the course of Autumn Quarter, I have had the extreme honor of having Marcie Stone as my Honors career mentor. A '69 graduate of the Honors Program herself, Marcie is incredibly committed--even in retirement--to the wide array of causes and communities she invests herself in, and she is an active advocate of higher education. Marcie has been helping me to explore a number of potential opportunities. Through her many connections and willingness to use them she has connected me with several people involved in fields of environmental activism, medical advocacy, and midwifery. But most of all I appreciate the connection and the support she herself provides, and the opportunity to have a one-on-one continuing conversation through which to explore my future with someone willing to take the time to invest in me personally and to genuinely care. And all the while I’ve enjoyed learning about her, her consistent commitment and enthusiasm about being involved and giving back to the community, and the many values and qualities we seem to have in common. Having Marcie's support, interest, and guidance, as well as her advocacy as I explore my own interests, values, and goals has inspired me with confidence in navigating what it is I want to do with my future, the steps to pursue it, and having the courage to follow through.
At the beginning of the quarter I made the following list of some of the most important things I'm looking for in a career:
- A supportive, motivating, community that allows me to build mutual and meaningful relationships with those I work with.
- Mission, purpose, and values that motivate me and make my work something I am personally and passionately invested in.
I want to genuinely believe in what I'm doing and be willing to dedicate myself fully to it. - To have a positive and meaningful impact on others, through helping, connecting, and empowering people.
- The potential to learn and grow. I want a work environment which supports opportunities for life-long learning.
As the quarter comes to a close, I'm still heading forward with questions, but with two major pathways in sight. Both, in my own eyes, center around holistic healthcare. One is healthcare in the sense of serving people, particularly through maternal and child care. The other is addressing the health of our planet, through issues like environmental conservation. Like so many other things, I believe that the health of people and the planet are also interrelated, so maybe these things don't have so little to do with each other as it might seem.
There are so many questions to ask, and so many avenues to explore, and I’m entirely excited to be continuing this mentorship relationship into future quarters. |