MENTORSHIP AND THE JOURNEY OF MUTUAL LEARNING

“An effective mentor-mentee relationship is a mutually beneficial partnership in which both mentors and mentees make the same contribution to enhance the relationship” – Anna Giraldo-Kerr, The President of Shades of Success Organization.

Getting involved in the Mentorship program, students expect to learn from their mentors. However, Luong Van Can Fund always reminds that this program is an opportunity for both mentors and mentees to learn from each other, not a relationship solely for giving or receiving, but truly a two-way, reciprocal relationship. It was also shared from mentors that they did receive a large amount of energy, inspiration and positivity from the connections with mentees, which took roots from the youth, unflinching effort, creativity and a thirst for knowledge. Simultaneously, witnessing the mentees’ maturity and accomplishment was regarded as a true happiness of not only mentors but also those who were such connectors as Luong Van Can Fund.

In order to explore we would invite you to listen to the story of a special mentorship group of Ms. Le Kieu Oanh, a Pharmaceutical Products Development Assistant at Medbolide Pharma, and her three mentees, namely Luu Hoai Bao Tran, Lieu Bao Khanh and Nguyen Thi Mai Thu to figure out what is fascinating about the aforementioned mutual learning process.

On their first meeting, the three mentees had unsimilar impressions of their Mentor. Bao Tran’s first impression was that her Mentor is a friendly, open-hearted and affectionate person. In terms of Thu, on hearing that she would have a mentor, she was delighted and nervous at the same time. Nevertheless, after Tran met Ms. Oanh, her initial nervousness was swept away because of her mentor’s gentleness and thoughtfulness, which she described as a “typicality of a Hue woman”. As for Khanh, the first time she met the mentor was at the Mentorship Kick-off event in 2018. Ms.Kieu Oanh made a strong impression on her since she was more beautiful and graceful than that in the picture. Despite her Mentor’s friendliness, Khanh was a bit pressured by the word “Mentor”. After a while of talking, Khanh gradually believed that Mrs. Oanh would be a very caring Mentor to her mentees. The thing significantly enlightened Khanh was that her Mentor managed to arrange her jobs so that she could meet her mentees for the first time although she was supposed not to attend the meeting due to her hectic working schedule. Khanh did not think such a busy person could try her best to arrange the work in order to see every student. “I am very grateful for that and actually, our Mentor is super devoted to her mentees”, said Khanh.

Becoming a mentor for the first time, Ms. Oanh felt fortunate and satisfied with how lovely, polite, and progressive her three mentees were. After two years of companionship, she realized that everyone is “a unique book”, all of whom had their own distinct qualities. According to Ms. Oanh, mentee Bao Tran was a considerably level-headed, sensitive, thoughtful, and empathetic with stable conviction and viewpoint. As a leader of the team, Tran shows herself to be a highly responsible person, assigning tasks to members ahead of each meeting or some activities related to the community project. In addition, Ms. Oanh was able to cater for “self-love” which was literally ignored in previous times. The next member that was worth appraising was Khanh, who outstanded herself with her boldness, independence and admirable spirit of discipline. She was literally an early bird who was unfailingly punctual for every appointment. She always made an effort to complete her tasks ahead of the deadline and firmly keep promises. In a team, she always gave her teammates a high sense of reliability. The last one was the youngest – Thu, who came from Central Vietnam, whose major was different from the other two members. Despite being the only students majoring in Pharmaceuticals while the other two were in Medical Science, the little girl always attentively listened to practical learning and living experiences from the two sisters with a high progressive spirit. Mai and Thu showed their great adaptation when moving to Ho Chi Minh city such as being skillful at public-transport applications, finding self –study places, especially, proactively joining a lot of extracurricular activities. “They all have serious concentration on their majors, good attitudes and the potential to be a future leader. It is hoped that these “promising seeds” might bring all passion, intellects, and honesty to make positive contributions to their workplace and to the whole society”, Ms. Oanh shared.

During 2 years of the program, Ms. Oanh and her mentees not only got better mutual understanding but also learned from each other to improve themselves .

Regarding Mai Thu, she had learned how to cope with difficulties that she encountered. It was Ms.Oanh’s humility, kindness and effortless but assertive method of issues resolving that cultivated her deep appreciation. “Thanks to my Mentor, I gradually recognized what I truly wanted in my future such as defining my desired working environment, how to get on with my colleagues, as well as attitudes and manners when working at the Pharmaceutical company, etc. My Mentor played an important role in perfecting myself and shaping the path to success in the future” , Thu expressed.

When Tran, the “eldest sister” of the Mentees group, had problems with balancing time and work, Ms. Oanh suggested a habit of managing weekly activities and allocating them equally on weekdays. Using the simple Excel tool, Tran could make decisions with less hesitation and effectively manage her productivity. During the meetings, Tran learned from her how to care for those around her by observing her asking questions, paying every attention to the improvements and positive changes of the whole group.

Khanh sincerely shared that she had learned a lot from Mentor and other mentees, and the main thing was how to think and work. Inspired from the story of a doctor who had just graduated from school, choosing an incredibly challenging path, after years and years of continuous efforts, becoming one of the leading experts in Parasitology in Vietnam and even all over the world, Khanh realized that the young needed to clarify what they want to do, not to follow the crowd without understanding themselves. Additionally, to figure out their own ideals, it was a must that they experience and thoroughly reflect on themselves to find out what is the most suitable . With constant efforts, at some point, we will be successful in the field we have chosen. Besides, participating in the Mentorship program, she had become more open-minded than ever: “Before, I had thought the only thing I had to do in order to succeed in the future was concentrating on studying, so I did not take studying abroad or learning a foreign language seriously. Attending lots of meetings and discussions with Mentor, I have realized that learning foreign languages is of great importance. Probably I might not study abroad but I will manipulate it so as to broaden my horizons. Foreign languages encouraged me to participate in international exchange programs, providing me countless opportunities to access more advanced Medical Science, to learn the expertise and culture”.

“Giving is receiving”. By giving enthusiastic support to the students, Ms. Oanh found herself devoting her time and eagerness to share with her mentees. When having spare time, she suggested great opportunities for mentees to take part in new activities such as working as a project collaborator, organizing a long trip, or simply exploring a new restaurant, etc. These experiences might encourage mentees to not only integrate into new horizons, learn how to work or communicate in the practical environment,but also apply them when needed. “Mentorship gives me the opportunity to work with young people majoring in the same field as a pioneer, to share my own perspectives and experiences, which contributes to their further development, nurturing their desire to dedicate their life to serve society, especially in Health and Healthcare. In fact, that is also a great “gift” as I could indirectly contribute to our community. In addition, Mentorship also widens my circle of friends and potential partners in the community of Mentors including a multiple of outstanding successors in various fields. I am truthfully blessed and grateful for that”.

With the burning desire to bring more value to the Mentees and to expand a dynamic community of mentors, this year, Luong Van Can Fund sincerely invites those that are both young and talented who wish to contribute to society by sharing and supporting mentees with a voluntary spirit of becoming a mentor of Luong Van Can Fund.

🌠 For registration, fill out the form at : https://lvcfund.org.vn/dong-hanh-cung-quy-lvc/

🌠For further information about Mentorship program, please visit this link: https://tinyurl.com/lvcf-mentorship2020

🌠 For any questions, please email: mentorship@lvcfund.org.vn