A note from one of our mentees:

Just the idea of having a mentor who knows absolutely nothing about you, who wants to be a ‘friend’ and give you advice so that you make the right choices freaked me out at first because it was something I wasn’t used to. On the other side I thought it isn’t a big deal having a mentor as a friend who is there for you.

A mentor is an older person who is successful and can be seen as a role model who gives advice, guidance, honesty, time, energy and someone you can talk to, to lead you on the right path so that you can have a successful future where you can be independent, stable and maybe be a mentor for others. You and your mentor sign an agreement for 12 months to commit to each other. You and your mentor can still stay in touch by choice after the 12 months.

My name is Nicole Hugo and I have just matriculated from Zwaanswyk High School in Retreat, Cape Town.

To be honest, at first I did not have a clue what to say to my mentor; it felt awkward. We had a few arguments but mostly out of misunderstandings. All relationships or friendships have their ups and downs.

After a period of time I felt more comfortable and spoke easily to my mentor. She gives me her opinion, advice, outlook on my career, personality, situations and general stuff and that is how I have grown personally.

I learnt a lot and achieved so much, it’s unbelievable. I would advise every final year student to have a mentor because it’s the most important time of your life to decide what lays ahead of you for the rest of your life.

My 2010 was awesome because I had a lot of support which helped me to be at this point where I am going to university at Tsiba Business College to do an international business degree but without my mentor it wouldn’t have been possible. So, final year students, go make it possible, not for your peers, teachers nor family but for YOURSELF!!