One of MENTEE’s students, Diana Del Valle, went on a job shadow with her mentor Carrie Roath Ernest, Director of Student Professional Engagement in the Center for Professional Advancement at Robert Morris University. Diana wanted to share the following conversation MENTEE had with her about her experience.
MENTEE: Diana, what are your feelings about being a part of MENTEE?
Diana: Being part of the MENTEE program helps me realize how capable I am to achieve my goals. I believe the MENTEE program is helping me develop my skills. A mentor is someone with more experience than you in one or more subjects and can guide you in a certain career field.
MENTEE: How did you feel about the idea of going on the job shadow?
Diana: Going to the job shadow makes me think about exploring all the new opportunities that are available for me. For me, job shadowing gives me the chance to experience a new field and learn about a career. It also helps me focus on the positive and negative aspects of the opportunity. But the most important thing about going to the job shadow is that it is an easy way to see in what kind of job you can fit in.
MENTEE: What did you do while you were with your mentor?
Diana: For the job shadow, I spent the day with my mentor. I visited her at her job, where she works at Robert Morris University. She gave me a small tour of the offices and the library. We attended a conference about negative experiences faced by women of color. I learned about the value of race. A person of color is treated differently only because they are of color. As people of color, we deal with different types of jokes often targeted against us, but we learn to deal with these types of problems. I learned that in some cases it does not matter that you have a degree or a good job. You will always be treated differently only by being of color.
MENTEE: For you, what was the most important thing you learned that day?
Diana: Nobody can be alone. We all need guides, mentors or teachers to give us support and motivation. My mentor, Miss Carrie, inspires me and helps me get out of my comfort zone. My mentor transmits her knowledge and experiences to help me. She talks to me about the challenges of making things reality, but she always says not to feel anything is impossible!
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Letitia Zwickert
Founder & CEO of MENTEE
312.725.2457
www.menteechicago.org