The Making of a Mentor

I was so happy to have met one of the Cleveland State University Urban Affairs DC Seminar yesterday at the alumni event because it enabled me to realize that I possessed the ability to become a mentor. During our conversation I asked her the group's composition and she commented that this year was evenly split between undergraduates and graduates (There were even two were PhD students!). Then I inquired if any one of them wanted to work in DC to she replied yes. I told her about USAJOBS, the federal government's job site in addition to several others. She gave me her business card and throughout last night and earlier this morning, I located resources to help her Urban Affairs students acquire jobs and schooling. This meeting allowed me to use my prior research knowledge of obtaining greater Cleveland higher educational resources for poor, first-generation college students into action. Though I supplied advice, personally, staying and working in Cleveland then relocating to Washington, DC would be better because they would had acquired the requisite experience and skills to excel. That was how I obtained my economist position. As a graduate student I worked as an Information Officer with the Cuyahoga Support Enforcement Agency honing my Medicare and food stamps transfer skills. When I relocated to Washington, DC to work as an economist in the transfer payment section, I hit the ground running!