A Special Partnership: Thoughts from the Mentors

Being a mentor for our Reach for the Stars Nursing Scholarship Program participants has been refreshing and inspiring to me. It was inspiring to engage with them and see their excitement, hear their questions and gain the opportunity to observe their thought process a bit. I valued the opportunity to help answer their questions and provide guidance based on experiences when they were presented with challenges or a fork in the road.

This experience has also been educational for me. The nursing climate is so very different now than it was a few years ago. While I see and experience that from an employee viewpoint, I had not experienced it from the brand-new nursing student and then the student graduating and evaluating their career options and next steps. It’s been enlightening seeing the difference in such a short period of time.

I have enjoyed being a mentor because it has given me the opportunity to give encouragement to future nurses. Nursing school is stressful but rewarding at the same time. I did not have a mentor in nursing school and that is something I wish I had. Keep your head up and stay strong.

I personally love the Reach for the Stars Nursing Scholarship Program as it allows growth opportunity for our internal employees and helps them find careers within our system after graduation. It is a great way to promote within and encourage continued education!

While in nursing school, I was one of the few in my class who consistently worked 0.6-0.9 FTE each week while attending classes full-time. While this had its challenges, it also made me a better nurse because I had so much real-life experience through work. Mentoring someone who is going through something nearly identical to what I experienced has been very rewarding for me. I know I would not have achieved the level of success that I have without mentors guiding me throughout my journey. Being able to give that same mentorship to someone else has been very fulfilling and it has been a joy to watch her succeed over the last 6 months.

Serving as a mentor for a Reach for the Stars Nursing Scholarship Program recipient has been extremely rewarding. Connecting with a next generation nurse not only fuels the passion I already have for the profession, but it also gives me peace that we will be in great hands in the future. My mentee has shared his fears, concerns and successes during and after his first semester of nursing school. Being able to listen and offer small pearls has been a pleasure. He is very capable, driven and has worked hard to balance his extremely busy life while succeeding in a challenging nursing program. I look forward to our meetings and always feel refreshed after spending time talking with him. It has been a big honor to serve as a mentor, and I can’t wait to continue to watch him success. I can’t imagine the amount of pride he will have walking across the stage — and I plan on being in the audience to continue cheering him on!

Mentoring for the Reach for the Stars Nursing Scholarship Program has been a way to give back and complete a circle in a way. My mentee is the child of a person I went to nursing school with almost 20 years ago. I had stories of him as a child and have maintained peripheral connection with the parents, so being able to see his progression into the field has been fulfilling.

In addition to a personal connection, I feel I have been able to serve in an advisory role and provide ample feedback to ensure he is getting into an area that will maximize his goals of being a professional nurse soon. Early on we had a good connection, were able to set achievable stretch goals, talk early career milestones and set a path forward. He was able to explain his needs, his struggles, as well as clearly define what nursing meant to him. I am happy to say he has made excellent progress towards his goals and will be starting his professional journey in an ICU setting well-matched to his skill set.

I have very much enjoyed being a mentor for the Reach for the Stars Nursing Scholarship Program. I have the great pleasure of mentoring a nursing student who has now accepted a Clinical Nurse Entry position on my unit and will be starting in the Cardiac ICU as a nurse after her graduation in May. It’s been wonderful to support her through her last year of nursing school, and we have had such great conversations about her career and life plans. The RFTS program is such an amazing opportunity for students currently working at the health system. I know my mentee has been so grateful for the support and will continue to be an incredible representative of nursing at KU for many years to come.