Empowering the Next Generation: Our Journey Being a Mentor with Young Women in Leadership
May 30, 2023
This month we were able to dive into the exciting world of youth mentorship and the transformative experience it creates when we participated in the Young Women in Leadership program. This initiative, created by MP Pam Damoff, aims to empower young women and provide them with guidance and support in our communities.
Mentorship is a powerful tool that can shape lives, open doors and inspire our future leaders. It provides guidance, support, and encouragement to individuals seeking personal and professional growth. It creates opportunities to have a closer look at the roles we do as leaders, and learn about the soft skills we use daily at work. When it comes to mentoring young women, the impact is even more profound. By offering our guidance, we can foster their self-confidence, cultivate their leadership skills, and promote diversity and inclusion. Seeing a young woman grow and thrive through mentorship is an incredibly rewarding experience. The sense of fulfillment that comes from knowing you made a positive difference in someone’s life is truly priceless.
The Young Women in Leadership program, spearheaded by MP Pam Damoff, seeks to bridge the gender gap and empower young women to become future leaders. It encourages female mentors in diverse backgrounds – from doctors to engineers to business owners – to step forward and share their wisdom and guidance. By participating in this program, mentors have the opportunity to share their experiences, encourage growth and pave the way for our young women leader’s successes.
We had an incredible day connecting with our mentee Hillary, a Grade 10 student from Milton. The journey we embarked upon together has been nothing short of inspiring.
It sure can’t be easy for a teenager to come to an office full of strangers to spend the day. These students start this journey with incredible courage. We began our day with staff introductions, a tour, and then discussed goals and challenges in her world. Hillary spent the day getting to know a little bit of each person’s role and got to see the important interconnectivity and communication that happens in an organization. She was eager and willing to participate, and as the day went on you could see her confidence soar. We were joined by MP Pam Damoff and interviewed by Burlington Today which was a great bonus experience. It was such a great day!
Seeing a mentee’s confidence grow and creating a safe space for them to have the willingness to try new things makes mentoring one of the most rewarding aspects of being a leader. The mentor-mentee relationship is a unique bond built on trust, respect, and shared goals. It’s a welcomed journey of growth and inspiration for both parties involved and by creating these opportunities we are empowering young women to be strong leaders for the future.
👇 Check out the TikTok we made together here! 👇