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Tahmina’s story
If I had to describe my mentor in one word, I’d say amazing. She did the same A Levels as me so she also sent me her notes from Chemistry which were amazing; I’m still using them.
It turned out that we were both working on research projects at the same time, and she gave me a lot of tips on planning and time management. I couldn’t have started it without her!
She was also really fun to talk to; we had so much in common that we could recommend restaurants and Korean dramas to one another. It made it much easier to speak to her about the more difficult things because we had that foundation. A good connection allows you to speak more openly.
I have an older sister who’s similar to me, but my mentor was in the same position as me; she had the same uncertainty. I knew I could tell her anything and it would stay confidential. I could speak to her comfortably and I knew I could trust her.
It’s important for young people to have a mentor because there are so many more perspectives out there than the ones in your school. You can learn about apprenticeships and careers to help you make your decisions. I’ve saved some screenshots of the advice she gave me: she even reminded me to look after myself and not to work too hard!
Want to have a positive impact on young people?’
We’re always looking for new mentors as everyone brings their unique perspective and and experience
Mentee stories
Daniel’s story
I only had a vague idea of what I wanted to do after GCSE and I had no idea where to start. I was interested in aviation, zoology and conservation but after that I was lost. I didn’t know if you needed a degree or an apprenticeship and I wasn’t sure which path to choose. Mentoring was a very useful tool to help with this; it gave me a push to start looking at new things.
Simran’s story
I always wonder whether I’d be thinking or feeling the same about university if there wasn’t a pandemic. I completely lost that in-person interaction and was struggling with the UCAS application because of it. But then, if there hadn’t been the pandemic, I wouldn’t have been able to do the virtual work experience and use the Brightside platform.
Rano’s story
I knew I wanted to be a lawyer but I was concerned about the workload. My mentor was a working lawyer, so not only gave me advice about my UCAS application and interview questions, but also reassured me that you don’t need to overwork yourself to be successful. He told me about his personal experience of finding balance and saying no, and reminded me how important enjoying your free time is.