Once I joined the techwomen program, I started thinking about being a mentee, what would it be in daily bases? What can I bring new to this person that is taking time to be my mentor? What if the relationship mentor mentee doesn't work?
I went from curious to nervous in a very short time, Even stressed.
When I received the email from the techwomen team defining my host company and the name of my mentor, I felt scared and not confident at all, I had to join the number one cloud computing company in the world and I will be matched with one of the director in the company, with a very long CV. I started putting pressure on me, this lady has a very big experience, she is working in the Bay Area, what can I bring in this situation, what can we do together, cloud computing is very far from my professional experience.
We agreed to have a Skype call one day after I reached home, and discuss the different subject proposed and see what can we do, honestly I did not know what can be my outcome from this experience, I joined techwomen to see how people work in the Silicon Valley , to understand the success methodology ( if there is one ) of these companies. So in a matter of project I did not have any idea what can be done or not I was ready to discuss any possible idea.
The brainstorming session had started, my mentor gave me different options, I had to see the positive and negative side of each idea, and we found our self combining different ideas in one project.
The first discussion was so natural, I could not believe it, after the first minutes, I felt comfortable and happy to meet this person even if it was virtual only.
We had around 3 or 4 Skype conversation before to meet in SF, we were able to define our project, try few things, and then I realized I need to start coding. I don't have the background but I always coded during my summer vacation in college, I took the chance to learn different languages and create some small software, but I did not have the mobile app experience, and I felt happy to go out of my comfort zone, to take risks, and try something new and different, I felt ready to trust my mentor with her advises and ideas, because I was able to give my own opinion, and she will listen to me.
When we met in SF, it was like friends meeting again, we were able to talk so naturally about our interests , jobs, and this amazing opportunity to work together.
My first day at office was inspiring, I was surprise how IT department can get everything settle down very quickly, then it was my turn to get into work , into my project, I had ideas to try, and I was all excited.
On the first week I had daily bases meeting with my mentor to discuss the projects and the steps to considere, but when Friday arrived I was freaking out, I felt little lost and not being able to do what I was asked to.
I realized that I can ask questions, I can share my ideas, I write it down, or make some spreadsheet, the most important is to get it out of my head and organize it, at that moment I understood what I had to do, I have got some insights from an amazing and professional lady, Jenny, she took one hour of her time to discuss the project with me, and from that moment everything became clear, my learning path ( the name of the project) is getting clearer for me.
After 3 other weeks of hard work, follow up with my mentor, meetings with people for suggestions, advises, and help I was able to finish that application and learning path. It was hard to convince people to trust me with the content, or with the way I want to code my application, I learned that you can be stubborn but prove that you were right.
It was great to have Jeanette around, it did make me feel safe to know that she is supervising the situation, that I can turn to her if anything is not okay. I enjoyed taking the opportunity to take my own decision, and have the chance to pitch it or argue it.
One month later, I realized that I can do a lot, if I'm in the right environment, but being in an hostile one can only make it much more appreciated challenge.
Looking for the chance to be a mentor, and I think the best way is to create this opportunity and chance.
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