Mentor Search Begins

October 12, 2020

Rather than focusing on a specific topic area for Java, this week I decided to search for potential mentors who have great credentials and someone who would be willing to have a student by their side. I took my search towards my parents’ networks, family friends and LinkedIn. All of these sources provided me with several potential mentors who I will be scheduling an interview with in the near future. Throughout a course of a week, I managed to scout and document 30 potential mentors. These professionals were in different professions, ranging from machine learning to Senior Data Analyst to entrepreneur. Mr. Pirtle told us that the mentor did not have to be in the exact career field that we were studying, rather we were tasked to search for a mentor who was in a similar line of work and someone who would be interested in becoming a mentor. I took this to mind and searched for professionals who were within the technology sector and I preferred those who had led Computer Science outreach programs or just had some background in leading a team. In addition, a majority of the professionals that I listed on my contact sheet work within the DFW area which is very good in case we wanted to set up a face to face meeting in the future. I am looking forward to getting into contact with these professionals as they have a lot of teaching experience and are esteemed candidates in their positions, and I truly believe that I can gather some valuable information from a mentor. Furthermore, my mentor’s advice will set me on the right path to succeed in college and track down useful internships and potential job opportunities. Coming up in the following weeks I will be contacting more professionals to set up interviews and talk to see if they would be the right fit for me as a mentor.