A True Mentor Can Change Your Life
In the stress of life, it can be easy to forget that it’s the people in your life who make the greatest impact on you. A true mentor can teach you far more than the SAT ever will — the mentors we have and the lessons they teach us stick with us throughout life.
Mentors teach you how to be anything from professional, composed, or knowledgeable, to simply how to be kind, empathetic, and keep your head on straight. They guide us through our interests, through career ups and downs, and even through personal struggles.
“In any organization that you join, you learn pretty quickly that a lot of your own success in the organization derived from a mentor to guide you,” Daniel Eem of Path Mentors said. “Whether that’s like a college organization, or at work, or even just in life, having someone who’s older than you who has more experience than you as a mentor can really impact your success.”
But how do we find mentors, especially for high school students? Path Mentors exists for that very reason — more than matching students with tutors, Path Mentors works to match high school students to a mentor who can guide them through high school and beyond. These mentors are custom matched so that they can mentor students in their passions well into their careers.
Students need role models, and the best role model can inspire even the most lost or unmotivated student to find their passion. At Path Mentors, mentees get to speak with multiple mentors who are Ivy League plus graduates and get to choose the mentor who is the best fit for them.
“As an immigrant myself I have vivid recollections of me and my parents navigating the American education system,” Eem said. “I thought I could bring what I learned from my experience to mentees … I think it’s unique because a lot of teachers are usually far older. Path Mentors does a good job of bridging current professionals with backgrounds that may not be as accessible to students. I think that allows students to really learn and to look up to someone who’s not really that much older than them.”
At Path Mentors, mentors guide high school students to learn through undergoing personalized projects catered to their interests. And while project based learning has its own merits, combining it with mentorship adds a specific distinction to Path Mentors. Usually, when students are able to try project-based learning, perhaps in a summer project or as a school assignment, it ends with the project. In adding mentorship, you introduce a role model who is willing to not only focus on helping you complete the project, but guide you in ways that will serve you long after the project is over.
“I personally have mentored a student for two years in equity research and finance, but I sometimes help him with other things that are unrelated or even listen to general concerns he has that arise in high school,” Eem said.
Many students just need a mentor they can trust in order to unlock their own intellectual curiosity. From there, they can expand their skills, perspectives, or maybe just try something new that normal high school curriculum, extracurriculars, and summer programs cannot provide.
“I am a mentor because I believe there are so many mentors I had throughout high school, college and work,” Eem said. “And so I am trying to do the same thing and be a mentor to others, and hopefully be a good influence. Maybe the biggest hope I have as a mentor is becoming a person who others can look up to as a role model, especially mentees from similar backgrounds.”
— Mentor Amanda
Does this article resonate with you? You or a high school student you know could get mentorship from the author of this article or another one of our mentors, each of whom is a graduate of an Ivy League, Stanford, or MIT.
Schedule a free consultation call to explore mentorship and project possibilities that align with your interests.