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Volunteer Spotlight – Mentoring is valuable to everybody, young and old!
Sinead is one of our volunteers and the star of our latest spotlight. She talks about how she got to where she is today in her career in marketing and communications for huge pharmaceutical companies. She also shares the reasons why she decided to volunteer as a mentor, what her experience has been like and why she believes mentors play a huge role in helping young people with their aspirations.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and what got you to where you are today.
Since I graduated from university, most of my roles have been around client service, account management and communications. I realised early on in my career that I enjoyed working with people; talking to people, communicating with them, getting to know how they work and how they think.
Now, I do the marketing and communications for various medications for cancer, Alzheimer’s, Type 2 diabetes, heart fit ailure, etc. I fell into healthcare and science communications by accident since my degree is not scientific. I only studied science up to GCSE level, as it was the subject I enjoyed the least because I found it hard to apply to the real world. Now, I get to see how science is applied in the development of these drugs, how they are tested and how they benefit patients.
I wonder if my teachers 20 years ago could have seen me doing this because they probably knew that I hated science, and I had to constantly work hard at it. But now I’m working in the area that I hated the most, which is ironic, but that’s the way it works sometimes.
How did you get started as a volunteer mentor with GT Scholars?
I’ve done mentoring in the past with slightly different types of programmes involving younger people and women, and it’s just something that I’ve enjoyed doing. I really like relationship building and getting to know people. So, when I was looking for something new to do in volunteering, I found the GT Scholars’ mentor programme online. I thought that it sounded like a good programme, particularly for young people, because there’s a lot of pressure on them when they’re in their teen years. Around these ages, they’re going to make a lot of decisions that will impact the rest of their lives. I believe it’s a time when having a mentor can be really beneficial.
What part of this mentoring process have you found the most fulfilling?
I think seeing progress from the mentee that I work with has been great. I have been working with my mentee for one term. The first session focused on identifying her objectives and the areas she found challenging at the time. When we had the check-ins, we spoke about strategies to help her overcome some of the things that she had highlighted. At the end of the term, we reflected on where we started and where we are now. It’s nice to see that there has been positive progress.
What goals have you helped your scholar achieve?
There were a lot of things that she had difficulty with; things like time management and prioritising tasks, deciding when to complete homework, assignments and revision. She just got overwhelmed. And again, I thought back to how I felt at that age. I felt overwhelmed, too. But also today, in my professional life, these kinds of pressures don’t disappear.
It often comes down to time management and prioritisation, and it’s important to learn those and nail them from a young age so that when you get into the professional world, you’ve already got some experience. So, one of the main things that we’ve been talking about is how everybody feels overwhelmed at times, how they don’t have enough time to do things and how planning can help with this in the future.
What challenges did you face while mentoring your scholar?
It was just making sure that the advice I gave her didn’t tell her what she should do, because I feel like she needs to make the final decisions for herself, with my encouragement and support, of course. I think that’s probably the thing that, as a mentor, I have to constantly remind myself, that I’m not her friend or her sister or her mother. I’m here to give some kind of support and guidance. But ultimately, I don’t know her outside of the few hours that we’re talking. It is a bit of a challenge, and it’s one that you have to constantly be mindful of.
Why do you think mentoring is valuable to young people?
Mentoring is valuable to everybody, young and old. Mentors play a huge role in everyone’s lives. Young people need to understand this from an early age. Mentors can be friends, good teachers, siblings, or they can be professional mentors. These are people whom you can look to.
It’s good to have different perspectives because when you’re struggling in a specific area, having somebody who’s lived through that experience can help you. That lived experience is often an important thing that a mentor can bring because they can use it to reassure somebody. You can say, “I have an understanding of where you’re coming from” or, “I don’t know exactly how you feel, but I can understand because I’ve had a similar situation”.
What do you think is the most important skill to have as a volunteer mentor?
Listening is an essential skill, and by that I mean active listening. It is not simply allowing someone to speak. As a mentor, you have to remember small details that they might tell you, allowing you to bring them up in another session. For example, one of my mentees kept saying that she was lazy during our first session. At the end of the hour, I was thinking, “You’re not lazy because what you’ve described to me sounds like you’ve just got a very fulfilling life. You’ve got lots of things you want to do and achieve. You’re not lazy at all”.
I had to recognise that ‘lazy’ was a word she repeatedly used to describe herself. Picking up on that allowed me to gently challenge her perception and help build her confidence. The language that we use is vital to how we feel about ourselves. So, picking up on the small bits that mentees are giving away can then help to try to change their perspectives on themselves.
What has the experience as a volunteer mentor been like for you?
I enjoyed it. As I said, it’s nice to get to know somebody new and to understand someone else’s perspective. I feel energised when I think about the session, and then having the session and reflecting on it. Also, when you’re mentoring, you don’t just learn about someone else; you’re also learning about yourself. It makes me reflect quite a lot on my own life. I enjoy mentoring because, very often, the thing that connects me with a mentee is our shared experience.
We have all experienced hard times and stressful things that might be slightly different, but these experiences are relatable. So, I think for me, the most fulfilling part of the mentoring process has been getting to know someone new and understanding their story and where they’re coming from and hopefully play an important role in that.
How important has support been in getting you to where you are today?
I think that having mentors throughout your life, and not just when you’re at school, is important. I remember having to pick the appropriate subjects at school and then choosing the right degree at university, and all of the pressure that was involved, especially while trying to get good grades and make friends at school. It reminded me of the support network I had when I was at that age. I realised that not everybody has the support they need, and they might want to have an alternative voice within their support network. I don’t think I’d be here right now, in the place that I am now, without having people that I respected and connected with, who were my mentors. So, I think it’s been hugely important.
What have you gained from volunteering with GT Scholars?
It makes me feel warm and fuzzy to know that I’m hopefully making a positive impact on somebody’s life. It has encouraged me to reflect on my past, present and future self, as some of the challenges that people face when they’re younger re-emerge later in life. So, it’s good to reflect on that.
<h4>What would you say to anyone thinking of becoming a mentor with GT Scholars?
I’d say go for it and speak to somebody who is currently a mentor at GT Scholars at the moment. Do some research, be open-minded, and, if you are interested, go for it. Mentoring a positive experience, not just for the mentee but for the mentor as well. I think it’s a great programme and I’d recommend it to anybody!
GT Scholars is an award-winning education company and social enterprise. We run high-impact tutoring, mentoring & enrichment programmes for young people aged 11-18. If you’d like to give your child the support, skills and strategies needed to achieve their academic and career aspirations, you're in the right place!
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