As the clock towards graduation keeps ticking, the decisions and aspirations for life after college keep trekking through my head, especially since I’m walking the stage in a few short months (December – I really can’t believe it!) As I reminisce on the past experiences I’ve had with classes, internships, jobs, and professors, I can’t help but thank certain individuals that helped me gage difficult decisions about the transition I’m about to embark on.
As a graduating senior, I’ve worked in numerous organizations and internships that may have paved a path, lit a light bulb or ignited an idea about the turn I expect my life to take after graduation. This summer, while working for a Marketing & Public Relations agency in South Florida, I realized a couple of things about the “real world” that I may have not realized while in college before.
Ideas about the “perfect first job”, grad school, future goals, and ambitions all float around my head as I journey through Florida State University for one last semester, to seemingly no avail.
If I had to think of one piece of advice, one experience, one memory that I’ll cherish forever because of the impact its had on my life, my decisions, and my sanity… it would have to be the significance of having a trusted, inspiring mentor.
I understand that juggling school, work, and life is oftentimes difficult, it may even feel impossible. But as I journeyed through the Marketing field in Tallahassee, I’ve met really amazing people that have inspired me, advised me and impacted me in a way that made me realize the importance of human interaction, the importance of speaking up and talking about your emotions. The person I consider my mentor, my supervisor from my previous internship, has talked my ear off with an array of raw advice that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.
From what to do with certain decisions, to how to act professionally, to how to build relationships – my mentor has opened her mind to me and shown me everything she has learned and beyond to carry with me for my future career and life. During work, I oftentimes walked into my mentor’s office with situations and decisions she once went through – and not a moment did she reject me. She sat me down and talked to me for an hour, two sometimes, about her own past experiences and past decisions. Her mistakes, her triumphs, her moments of “I wish I could have done this differently.” From what city to choose after graduation, to the types of jobs I’d encounter, to how to treat and handle certain people in a professional setting, my mentor has guided me through certain situations that I’ll forever cherish.
My mentor has lightened decisions for me and has helped shape who I am these past few years at Florida State, both academically and professionally.
With the impact my mentor has had on me, my decisions, and my future endeavors, I hope to find an ambitious and curious 20-something-year-old student once I grow and experience life outside the walls of Florida State University. I hope to reflect on my life to inspire, motivate and love a college student as much as my mentor has done for me.
The best advice I can give any college student or expected graduate is to find that person to help guide you through the college-maze. Find that person that inspires you to be better, the person that showcases your potential and your worth.
Find your mentor. Trust me, it makes a life of a difference.