When I think back to every time I accomplished something, there was someone there to guide me. When I was in school, there was a teacher and my parents. When I played soccer, I had coach or my parents.
Even at my first job, where I casually crafted Quiznos subs, there were managers there to guide me and help me succeed. Even in the most particular scenarios, such as stuffing my bag in the overhead bin of an airplane or getting my ticket ripped at a movie theater, someone was there to guide me. Guidance and leadership exist in so many different forms, from your teacher to your bank teller. It’s an aspect of life that in most cases comes naturally. It’s something that most people share and something that all of us expect: guidance.
Everything in my life seemed to happen smoothly and in sync as if I was in a movie… until I reached junior year of college.
All of the people who once guided me were replaced by other students who were just as clueless as I was. “Where am I going to live when I grow up?” “What am I going to do?” “Oh, I know – I’ll start my own business.” “But, how?”
Almost every student has the limbo feeling of not knowing what their calling is. First they may think its biology and then they may realize they are really meant for management. Then when they get in to management, they have no clear guidance on how to get a job. They’re confused on what classes to take and where to apply for real-world jobs. Nightmares of interviews and paper-jockeying haunt them at night.
The thoughts of driving a 2-seater with one taillight out and no money to replace it freak them out because they fear they will never find out what they want to do. How do I know this? Because that is exactly how I felt before I figured it all out.
In January of 2015, I was invited to go to a national sales meeting for a very large and well-known company, Pearson.
At this sales meeting, I had the opportunity to meet the CEO, John Fallon. He invited us on stage in front of over 1,000 people and told us to ask us one question about the company and one piece of advice for the company. Of course, my mind jumped straight for the confusion that my life was currently engaged in.
I asked him how education can be better guided by mentorships. His answer was incredible and on point as he stated that students like myself should do something about it and that everyone in the audience is capable of making changes to be more personable in their daily lives. He was advising that success comes from inside and outside the books.
The second part of the on-stage interview was to give the company a piece of advice from the student’s point-of-view. As guessed, I once again laid my attention on the fact that there is a lack of mentorship and guidance in the lives of students outside, and even inside, school. I advised everyone, including Mr. Fallon himself, that there should be more attention given to establishing relationships. We should focus more on the students’ lives and not so much their grades. At the end of the day a student can pass ten advanced placement tests and complete two terms of club president but still be left without a vision or job.
At some point or another, especially while in the school years, we all need a little advice or insight. We need someone to talk to and someone to ask questions to.
Sure, parents and teachers are one thing, but what about professionals?
What about the surgeon or lawyer we want to be? Why can’t we talk to them? Why can’t we sit down with a pilot or speak with a boutique owner? Once the on-stage interview ended, a flock of people rushed the stairs to speak with us. They we’re asking us questions and telling us that we had the answers to what students needed.
That was it. Let me say it again. We have the answers to what students need. The ever-so-famous lightbulb burst into the space above my head. I had the answer to the problem I, and many others, had been experiencing for so long.
Once I returned back to Athens in late January, I put the pencil to paper and drew out countless ways to make this light bulb come to life.
Thus, after a long 4 months of work and grinding, MentorBuzz was created.
MentorBuzz has one mission: to connect students to mentors. We strive to make sure that every student has an opportunity to talk to someone in their field of interest. That one connection could be the key to success or the door to a new life.
Now, a student who is interested in orthodontics can get real-world advice from a real orthodontist, and not some internet forum. We connect students to the mentor they need and make sure that they can create valuable relationships. This is exactly what I needed and exactly what the other 42.7 million students in America need – a little guidance.
Not one person has become a billionaire without some form of guidance or mentorship. There is an old and humorous quote that goes, “It’s not about the grades you make, but the hands you shake.”
Granted, education is single handedly one of the most powerful energy sources in the world, but who says education has to come strictly inside a classroom? I have had countless mentors in various different fields from various different places. Without a doubt, it has made all of the difference.
MentorBuzz is here to re-shape the traditional forms of mentorships in order to make sure that every single student can get the advice and connection they need. We are here to make the difference in helping you get to where you belong.
Like our page on Facebook and reach out to us to figure out how you can get a mentor, or even how you can become a mentor. Help us spread our mission in order to create the lasting connections that we all need. Share our story and who we are because ironically enough, we still need mentorship and feedback too! #MentorBuzz
