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A MENTOR’S EVENING AT THE LAWYERS LEND-A-HAND AWARDS DINNER
Career networking can be a moment that paves the way for a future competitive advantage, or lead to feelings of inadequacy – “Am I cut out for this kind of work?” For Destiny Sauseda, a freshman at Farragut Career Academy, and new to the game of networking, this daunting task was made easy, manageable and pleasurable by having at her side an Adult Mentor.
Sarah DiVirgillo, a Life Directions’ Adult Mentor, and University of Illinois at Chicago intern, prepared Destiny for her special evening at the Lawyers Lend-a-Hand Awards Dinner. “How should I dress? What should I say? Who will I be meeting at this dinner?” were the most immediate questions she helped to answer as Destiny gained the confidence needed to make connections at the Dinner.
DeVirgillo said “It wasn’t easy getting Destiny to interact with others when we arrived. I had to nudge her to introduce herself, and to stand up when she shook people’s hands.” But the encouragement soon paid off.
Destiny was talking with lawyers eager to foster her enthusiasm for the field of law. After several rounds of laughter, motivation, and words of advice, Destiny created a connection with a Michele Ruiz, one of the evenings honoree’s who is also from the Little Village neighborhood. The two shared from their own common experiences, and forged a new bond of mentoring.
But by the end of the night she was networking on her own, As Sarah dropped Destiny off at home, she said. “More than gaining a new mentor relationship, what I discovered is that there are is a whole community of lawyers wanting to see me succeed!
With a little nudge from her friends from Life Directions, she will!
Posted on 10/12/2017 at 12:32 PM