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Mentoract… My Experience as a Mentee


Byron Padilla (Left), Annie Balius (Middle), Edith Ascencion (Back Center), Geoffrey Ko (Right) at the Mentor-Mentee Cook Off #WeWon

Hello Everyone,

Hopefully, everyone has read the last post we put up on the site, but if you haven’t ( maybe after you read this you can spare 10 more minutes and give it a go) I'll introduce myself one more time.

My name is Byron Padilla and I am a 3rd year Informatics Major. This year I have the pleasure of being your Web Administrator. As a Web Administrator, I have the pleasure of helping our club grow in various ways and in various places. I am in charge of handling all of our media accounts and of course our website. By the way, if you haven't done so already, make sure to follow us on Instagram ( rotaractuci ) and Snapchat ( rotaractuci ). #ShamelessPlug

Now that we have introductions out of the way, let us get to the real topic of this blog. The Mentor-Mentee program within our club, so aptly named “Mentoract.” This program was started years ago by a member of our board, but this time around it has been revamped by our one and only, Mentorship Director, Daisy Valle. She has been working hard the last few weeks in order to get the program up and running for this year's mentors and mentees. She has combed through your responses and has decided on the best pairs of mentors and mentees.

As a mentee myself I wanted to give everyone a window into what the mentor-mentee relationship is like. This are my experiences and as such they might be slightly different than most of yours, but I still believe that you will have an enjoyable and fruitful experience like mine.

First, let me introduce my mentor. She is one of the most fascinating individuals I have met in my entire college life. Her name is Edith Ascencion. Edith is currently one of our Community Service Directors and has been for the past three years. I met Edith in my first Rotaract event, she was wearing a green jacket and had colorful hair. I was immediately taken back because of her hair color, but after meeting her I understood that it was part of her unique and might I add awesome personality. I also have to thank her for being one of the first to come and introduce themselves to the shy old me. If it wasn’t for her taking the initiative I don’t believe I would have as many friends as I do now.

As a Mentor, Edith has been beyond what I could have asked for. She was there when I needed a favor. She was there when I needed help in choosing classes or when I was struggling with classes. She was there to celebrate my accomplishments, but also to help me stand back up when I was knocked down. She has been and will continue to be one of the pillars of my support system. She is someone I look up to and has given me the courage to make decisions I wouldn’t have before.

Hopefully, this has given you a little window into what it means to be in a Mentor-Mentee relationship.

Until Next time, Rotaractors!


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