Did you know that being a mentor can help your own development, as well as your mentee?
In support of Cardiff Commitment and their partnership with One Million Mentors, our colleagues have been volunteering their time as mentors to young people aged 14 to 25 across South Wales. With comprehensive mentoring training, even those with limited mentoring experience but a passion for helping others can get involved, people just like Linzi.
Linzi works in our Communications team and has been at Admiral for over 10 years. She shared her experience so far mentoring with One Million Mentors.
Hi Linzi, can you tell us more about One Million Mentors and your involvement with it?
I've been mentoring with One Million Mentors, which is a project connecting people to foster a more resilient, confident, and successful future society. It holds a strong network of potential mentors and mentees, facilitating a unique relationship whereby mentors can offer their experience and skills to help mentees confidently and reassuringly take the next step in their education or career path.
I first came across One Million Mentors from an internal email that was asking if colleagues wanted to get involved, and it immediately piqued by interest. Although I’ve never had experience as a mentor or mentee, I saw that I’d be offered training and support to be a great mentor and thought it was a really great initiative to be part of.
For me, it's about giving back to the local community and helping the next generation have an experienced and trusted mentor to inspire and motivate them to understand their potential and reach it.
I’m currently three-months into my mentoring journey at a local Cardiff secondary school in Cardiff. I hope to help my mentee decide on her A-Level subjects and then develop the relationship from there. If I can help my mentee in any way, even if it’s just to be a supportive ear to listen, it will be a huge success.
Why did you want to get involved with mentoring?
I’ve recently gone through some self-reflection; the older you get, the more you tend to reflect on your past. As I’ve become the person I am today, with an education and career I’m really proud of, I wanted to give something back and offer my skills and experience to a young person. I also think becoming a mother in recent years has motivated me to become a mentor, as it’s an opportunity I’d hope my children have access to when they need it one day.
As a huge believer in taking any unique experience that presents itself, I saw this programme as a chance to encounter a new situation, which would hopefully allow me to see things from a new perspective, developing my communication skills and allowing me to step out of my comfort zone.
It couldn’t have been easier to fit it around my day-to-day role and I felt really encouraged to get involved. I use my Impact Hours, which at Admiral means swapping our working hours to volunteer with something that positively impacts the community, so I haven’t had to give up any of my personal time, which as a working parent I really value.
How has it been so far?
I’ve completed the comprehensive training programme that One Million Mentors provided and have met my mentee a couple of times. We’re still in the early stages of our relationship, but I’ve been surprised at how much change I’ve already seen in them and myself. They’ve been super open to the mentoring, and I’m far more aware of what I can offer, both to my mentee and in my day-to-day role, which has been a fantastic outcome so early on. Mentoring has helped me recognise my own value and my confidence has really grown. I’m really looking forward to the rest of my mentoring journey!
We’re proud to support our colleagues’ passion for making a difference
Whether it’s to mentor young students, or women at the start of their Tech careers, we’re proud to support our colleagues to make a difference by using their dedicated Impact Hours each year.
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