Mentoring 101: Finding Your Passion
By PMP Mentee Kassidi Warnock
I became a part of the Leeds Professional Mentorship Program as a junior. The reason I got involved was that I hoped that I would be matched with someone to help me figure out my career. The program not only gave me opportunities to figure out my career path, but it helped me find my passion.
When I first joined PMP, I was an Accounting/Finance major, and I found myself wondering… “Is this what I really want my career to be?” As the program kicked off I was matched with Ross Prussin, a Leeds alum finance guy with the Royal Bank of Scotland in New York. Being new to the program and a little unsure of what to expect, I was intimidated to contact my mentor. I sent out an introduction, we emailed back and forth and eventually had a conversation over the phone. While we were talking, Ross asked questions and gave me feedback about what I wanted to accomplish and how I thought I could get there. He shared with me his own career path in finance and helped me to identify opportunities for networking and experience. The most valuable thing that I got out of our conversation, however, was that he helped me to discover that I didn’t want to be an Accounting/Finance major after all. If I hadn’t had the opportunity through the mentorship program to connect with a professional like Ross, I might never have really considered my goals and been able to turn things around.
When I started to pursue the Marketing track, I really found my passion for branding, strategy and design. Receiving constructive feedback from my mentor and really being able to connect to someone who was interested in learning about my struggles made all the difference in discovering what I wanted my career to look like, even though it wasn’t what I originally intended. Overall, the moral of the story is that even if you don’t necessarily know what to ask or what you want to do, take the time to get involved. The Leeds Professional Mentorship Program allows you the opportunity to talk to a professional who wants you to succeed, and will ask the questions you don’t think of to ask yourself. You may just find your true passion in the process.
Kassidi Warnock is a Senior Marketing major also pursuing certificates in Digital Media and Operations Management. She is the Marketing and Communications Manager at the Trep Cafe at Leeds and is a part of the PMP Advisory Council. Outside of Leeds, she is the President of the Executive Board of Collegiate Sport Clubs and leads the Womens Club Volleyball team at CU. Kassidi is originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado and enjoys snowboarding, photography and paintball.
