Throughout my professional journey
I have had the pleasure of being able to be provided with an amazing mentor and
or coach from a professional standpoint but also from a family member. I feel
that these relationships are very important in the overall success I have had
thus far. My sister Julie has provided me with support, guidance as well a
great role model for me to follow. My Director Frederic has also provided me
with support, guidance and he is also a great role model for me to follow. Each
relationship offers different support systems, guidance and role models but
combined they are the reason I have come this far successfully.
My sister Julie is an outstanding individual
she is a wife, mom, sister, teacher, group leader, master graduate and is always
going above and beyond her normal call of duty. Julie is the reason I have
educated myself and continue to pursue my education, as she was the first in
our family to attend and graduate college with an undergrad degree. Then while
working full time as a teacher and throughout the birth of her son she obtained
her master degree in Leadership. I have followed in her footsteps and have also
decided to obtain a master degree in Leadership because I was inspired by her
ability to take every challenge head on and make good decisions overall.
When I started my masters’ degree
in October I was about five months pregnant. The program was finally available
to everyone after hearing about it for months and I was overly excited to start
it since seeing the success my sister had gained from the same degree. As a
psychology major there were not many options for me here at Embry Riddle to
continue my education in that area until the Leadership degree came about. When
considering starting the degree at five months pregnant I talked to my sister
and she was honest with me in that she advised it would be very difficult, but
I could do anything I put my mind to. I weighed out the pros and cons and in
the end I decided that starting in October would be the best option for me.
Once January came I was again
stressing over the ability to continue my education as I had just given birth during
the middle of my course. Julie came to my rescue, she provided me with the
support I needed to remain motivated to push through this difficult and
stressful time. She reminded me of my overall goal of graduating and offered to
help me tutoring if needed. As I pushed forward she always expressed her
feelings of how proud she was of me, and I reminded myself that if she could do
it I could to. Julie is a great role model because she is the essence of what a
good leader is. With her degree she has accomplished many obstacles and
bettered the overall experience her class has. They have a teacher who is
requested by parents every year because parents see the results of what an
amazing leader and teacher she is. Since graduating Julie has also taken on the
challenge of helping to better the benefits teachers receive as well as she is
now getting ready to take the test to become a principle. Julie was also recently
chosen to attend a training session in Washington DC to be become a
Professional Development trainer to teach Professional Development to our local
union. Without Julie’s support and
guidance throughout my life I would not be where I am today.
I started working as the Eastern
Region Financial Aid Counselor with no experience at all other than receiving
financial aid as an undergrad at the University of Central Florida. Frederic
took a chance hiring me as financial aid counselor as it is a very difficult
process to learn. There are many areas that change yearly and it mandatory that
we not only learn but also teach our students the changes. Frederic has
developed a very successful program in how he wants his counselors to learn the
information. My training began with reading all about financial aid. I had to
know who gets it, who disburses it, how its acquired, the federal regulations
as well as what my responsibility were as a counselor. Once I completed the reading
process he then coached me through the different tasks I was assigned. He
helped me better understand the job and what part I played in it.
As the months passed I learned
enough to be on my own and took over the region. Now that I am on my own I have
gained a better understanding of what an amazing Director Frederic is. He is
the type of manager who sets the example of what we can be if we continue down
this path. He provides us with a tremendous amount of support when we are
behind, support as we struggle to understand a new process and emotional
support as well. No time is a bad time in his opinion meaning if we are upset
about a student or even something personal we know we can always go to him and
he will guide us in any way he can.
Frederic is always extremely busy
but never makes you feel that way. He has just recently taken on the
responsibility directing a new team in charge of the VA. I cannot imagine the
amount of stress he has but he always is there guiding us down the right
individual path. He wants to better each one of us. He spends time with each of
us asking us how we are feeling and or what we would like to do with our
positions, and with that knowledge he makes adjustments to his individual plans
he’s mapped out. He wants to better not only Embry Riddle’s organization but
also each of us personally. Frederic is my role model, of how to one day become
a successful leader. He has inspired me to better my self and sharpen my
critical thinking skills. With his guidance I hope to continue down my career
path hopefully one day become a Director myself having my subordinates looking
to me for guidance like I look to Frederic.
In my experiences I have understood
the importance of having a mentor or coach and why it is important to one day become
one as all benefit from this relationship. With these experiences I have also
gained a better understanding of what it takes to become a mentor and or coach. It
takes dedication from all parties involved, loyalty, respect; empowerment and
believing in yourself and whom you’re coaching and or mentoring. Using your
coaches and mentors to make better informed choices, becoming more self-aware,
using personal experiences, and understanding importance of using critical thinking
to make better decisions will ultimately lead you to become a successful leader.
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