Passport Assignment #6: Executive Mentor Program

The College of Business Executive Mentor Program introduces all the freshmen students to the exciting world of business. Successful business owners and executives of New Orleans volunteered to mentor small groups of students. Our mentors were supposed to introduce us to the different types of jobs and careers available to us as business students, discuss many different topics such as managing time and finances, setting goals and communication skills.
My experience with my mentor was a little different than what is described above and mentioned in the website. My mentor did not limit himself only to business, and rather than a business mentor he became a friend. He was an adult that we could talk to about anything who was not involved with the University directly. The experiences that were most helpful to me were the ones when our mentor told us about his life in college and gave us tips and advice in a very realistic and humorous was, as a friend our age would. My expectations changed the entire semester of this program, because I thought that it was strictly going to be about business but it was not, at least for me and the other people in my group. I enjoyed all the activities we had with our mentor and the interesting college life discussions we often had, but I thought I was going to be learning more about business than what we actually did.
For another peer that is seeking a mentor, I would suggest to them so find someone they can get a long with very well and that they can trust as a friend and not only have a formal, cold and distant relationship with. I would also suggest to them to look for someone that has a personality similar to them so they can feel comfortable talking with that person.
Next semester I look forward to spending more time with my mentor and continue to have comfortable and fun friendly discussions. It is nice to get away from all the stress of college and have a nice talk with someone mature who I wan trust and have a positive conversation with, as well as provide guidance as we overcome our first year in college.
For anyone that it interested in staying business connected over the winter break I would recommend Business Week, which has a wide variety of fun, interesting and easy to read articles. I would also recommend the Economist, which I used in highschool but I find that it has extremely interesting world wide articles!