EXAMPLE (mentor)

Mentor Interview

One of my mentors that I chose to talk with was my mission president, President Higham. I was planning on attending a mission reunion last weekend, but had some family plans come up unexpectedly and wasn’t able to attend, so this was a great opportunity to talk with my mission president.

My schooling is almost done and my general career path I have already chosen so we didn’t talk a whole lot about that. I did mention how I was a bit discouraged that it was so difficult trying to find an internship and wondered if I would be able to find a job after college. He said that it is a difficult time for construction right now, but said when he had just graduated from law school the economy was also bad. He was able to find an entry level job and by the time the economy picked up, he was advancing and well on his way. He said that it may also be a good time because if I can get in then I will be in a good place when the economy picks up.

I asked him what was the most important achievement or what has brought him the most joy and he said that it would definitely be the gospel of Jesus Christ and his family. We discussed this a little, because this is one of my goals I still need to achieve—finding a wife and starting a family. He told me about how he met his wife and qualities and things he was looking for. I asked how he knew that she was the one, and he told me that they both had the same kind of background, goals, desires, and enjoyed being together. He said when he prayed about marriage, the answer wasn’t that she was “the one”, but that they would be very happy together. He said this was very comforting and gave him the courage to move forward.

After I had asked my questions of him, he asked me a question. It wasn’t a question I had given much thought to at all and caught me off guard. I tried to think of some things and came up with a couple answers hurriedly, but he quickly helped me see that one of them wasn’t that important. He asked me to give it some more thought, come up with the three answers, set goals of what I can do in the next 90 days to work towards those goals, and then also send him a copy. I think perhaps the reason his request caught me off guard was because I have always set goals for the foreseeable future, or just the typical mormon ones, like go on a mission, get married in the temple, raise a righteous family, etc. I’ve fulfilled a mission (although I plan on serving another later in life), I’m near being done with school and starting a career, I’m and still looking for a wife. My goals have focused on the things I foresee, like finishing school, getting a good rewarding job, finding a wife, having a family, and living happily ever after. His challenge made me look from the point of view at the end of my life and who I want to be there, then to work towards that. His question was, “What three things do you want to be known for or have written on your gravestone.” While I was pondering on this question, I went on to the next assignment of creating a board of directors. While doing this I was able to think of some of my heroes from the scriptures and the things that were said about them that I would like to be said about me.