Mentors
Come to join up? Ready to donate a little bit of your time to a high school girl* or two (or more)? THANK YOU! We can't wait to talk with you! In the meantime, please fill out the form below! If you have any questions, feel free to scroll down for some common questions, or email us directly at bflnw2020@gmail.com
**NOTE: DUE TO COVID-19, ALL MENTORING IS CURRENTLY VIRTUAL**
Also, we require mentors to be women*. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to email us at bflnw2020@gmail.com
* When using this word (and other "female"-related terms), we include trans women and other gender minorities. We strive to be all-inclusive when using this term.
WHY SHOULD YOU MENTOR?
Five reasons why you should, according to Bright Network:
1. Engage with new perspectives
- Everyone has a different outlook on life. Meeting someone new and forming a relationship helps you gain new insight into various lifestyles and experiences.
2. Discover YOU!
- By retelling and sharing your experiences, you may unlock a new aspect of yourself you never thought about.
3. Improve yourself
- Becoming a mentor means setting a good example for others. How well do you manage bad habits? Do you follow your teachings? Evaluate yourself and find areas of self-improvement!
4. Leadership
- Take this opportunity to become a stronger leader. Forming a mentor-mentee relationship means that people are able to rely on you for advice. Be confident.
5. You can change someone's world!
- Introducing young women to the perks of networking can have a tremendous impact. Guidance and mentorship encourage them to seek a better version of themselves. Ultimately, your expertise and advice aid young women in reaching their highest potential.
COMMON QUESTIONS:
When will the mentoring sessions begin?
- We are waiting for the 2020-2021 school year to begin so that we can grow our student base more. We will consistently contact you letting you know our plans for when mentoring will begin. Expect an email by the beginning of November 2020.
What is the time commitment?
- Students have indicated that they would like to meet around once a month or whenever mentors can meet. Overall, we like to say that the time commitment is pretty minimal.
How will mentoring be facilitated?
- Because of COVID-19, we are fully virtual right now. We require all meetings to be held over Zoom, or another video conferencing platform, if you choose not to do it by phone or email.
- Right now, our platform is strictly mentoring, unless you can facilitate a job shadow/internship virtually. Please contact us about any situational questions that may arise at bflnw2020@gmail.com
When are mentoring sessions usually?
- We expect you and the student we connect you with to pick a mutually beneficial time to meet. We are not going to mandate when and how you meet, as it varies student to student and mentor to mentor.
- For example, we do not have a set time slot for all mentoring sessions to take place during i.e. after school
Who will be present during the mentoring sessions?
- Mentoring sessions are regularly conducted between one student and one mentor (online), unless the mentor and student want to include someone else i.e. parents, a friend with shared interests, a more experienced co-worker
What do we cover in a mentoring session?
- That's up to both mentor and student! A common format could include the mentor giving a general synopsis of what they do on a daily basis and what it is like being a female in their field, followed by a question time where the student asks questions.
- Our ultimate goal is networking - get to know each other better! It's all about discovering and learning about people and their experiences!