My experience with the summer mentoring project has been overwhelmingly positive, and I believe it’s something that gold scholars are very lucky to have access to.
For me, the sole reason I qualified for the scholarship was a lack of family support due to my estrangement from my parents. Because of my background, I also had no idea what university life was like and how to make the most of it. Beyond my studies, I had no way of knowing what I was supposed to be doing to get ahead of my peers, and the steps I was expected to have taken myself to make my career goals a reality.
While the Gold team have been overall amazing in this regard, as is the intended focus of the scholarship, having a mentor has made a huge difference for me. This meant having that one-to-one support, and speaking to someone who has achieved amazing things in a field which I hope to one day step into. We worked together to set measurable goals which would help to improve my confidence and prepare me for a career in research. It was really personalised around what I wanted to do, but guided by their knowledge and experience, which made it so much more helpful. My mentor has been incredibly kind and supportive, and has become such a positive role model for me. Even though our project ended last summer, we are still in contact and meet once or twice each semester.
If you aren’t sure about signing up for summer mentoring this year, it’s something I would absolutely encourage you to do!
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