Things you've picked up from your mentors.

[VexisDarksteele]

Hello again, Chief Delphi.

Watching the MSC webcast over the last couple of days has really made me take a trip down memory lane and think about things from a new perspective... Though I'm only a few years graduated from high school myself, I'm slowly beginning my journey on the path to becoming a mentor, and I'm realizing that a lot of the things I strive to do for my team came from the individuals who mentored me while I was a student member. And that idea just really struck me; the concept that some of the smallest gestures or words of encouragement from a single person can impact so many others for years to come.

One thing that really left an impact on me was an email sent by our Chairman's mentor of the time. Our team was young (it still is), we had only been in existence for 3 years when we won our first district Chairman's award. The three of us who presented were all founders of the team, we'd poured our hearts and souls into jump-starting this brand new team with the hopes that it would flourish for years to come. And for the three of us, that was also our senior year. It was make it or break it. And though we were very happy for the teams who won Chairman's at MSC that year, it did hurt to realize that all of our hard work, all of our sleepless nights and passion and excitement for growing FIRST combined still just wasn't good enough. I know that I, personally, was pretty crushed that day, even though we had still earned enough points to progress to St. Louis. I felt like I hadn't been good enough, like there was something I could've done differently to help my team earn that honor. And I think our Chairman's mentor picked up on that, because the very next morning, I awoke to an email from him telling all three of us how incredibly proud he was, and to not be discouraged because we didn't win. His words of praise and strength really helped me through that self-doubt, and made me see that we had done everything we could and that there was much we should be proud of in our last days as students.

Today, the cycle repeated itself almost exactly. Our team won Chairman's at the Gull Lake district again, but still wasn't quite strong enough to win one of the three positions at MSC. And remembering how I felt when that happened, I hit the 'Send' button on a similar email I have written to this year's presenters just about an hour ago. Tomorrow morning, they will wake up to the same thing I did 2 years ago. Everyone needs someone there to catch them when they fall, and because I had the luxury of being 'caught' by my mentor when I was spiraling, I felt this desire to do the same for the students I'm now helping.

So, fellow alumni, what are some of the things that your mentors did that really impacted you? Do you find yourself picking up some of those things for your own use? Why do you think the concept of a mentor is so important in helping to inspire and shape students for a more successful future?


Also, a big congrats to this year's MSC Chairman's winners; 503, 68, and 2137! You guys have certainly earned it!

--Vex