By Sherel Loo

The 2009 WIL mentorship program is more than half-way through and I am so lucky to have been paired up with such a fantastic mentor. And judging from the feedback received from other participants — mentees and mentors — they too, feel the same. You will also be pleasantly surprised at this year’s roster. Mentors and mentees hail from a wide range of industries, including Aboriginal education, accounting, events, finance, hospitality, IT, law, marketing, not-for-profit, public service, real estate, retail, small business, and students undertaking their undergraduate or graduate degree. It can’t get any better than this when you’re a mentee and you have this impressive line-up of women to learn from. I am in awe.

One of the perks of this program is the opportunity to participate in a variety of professional leadership training workshops. Mentors are shown how to hone and further their leadership skills while mentees are guided through topics such as self-esteem and courage, networking, public speaking and financials to increase confidence so that they too, can become women leaders.

When recently asked how the program is going so far, I was inspired by the commonality in responses. Mentors value the friendship that has blossomed, see the match as a two-way partnership of never-ending learning opportunities, and are simply enjoying the experience and gaining a lot of satisfaction from it.

“It’s a good partnership, and I think my mentee has as much life experience as me. There is so much to talk about that it’s not just about business. I’ve learned a lot from my mentee and am finding it very enriching.” — Rahima Shahban, Mentor

Mentees are grateful for their mentor’s guidance and resourcefulness, and for that someone who genuinely wants to see them succeed.

“It’s hard to find someone who wants to see you succeed, and my mentor helps me find the answers I seek.” — Gina Miller, Mentee

From the looks of it, I’m positive that many of these friendships will flourish beyond the 6-month program. And that’s something to smile about.

In addition, a number of mentees, including myself, have furthered our roles with WIL by volunteering on the Marketing-Communications team. This team was created to build awareness for WIL, deepen relationships with existing audiences, and increase participation in WIL programs and events. We look forward to meeting you at a future WIL event!

Sherel Loo is a mentee in the 2009 Mentorship program;  Editor of WIL’s monthly newsletter; and a volunteer member of WIL’s marketing & communications team.   Her day job is Assistant Director of Communications, Canadian Education Centre Network.

Filed under: Mentorship Program