My journey as a mentee: Hashcode Mentorship
Show me a successful individual and I will show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what you do for a living, if you do it well, I’m sure there was someone cheering you on to show the way. A mentor. — Denzel Washington
My mentorship journey began on a cool evening in January. It was a regular day at home since we were on break from school. After finishing my daily activities, I was browsing on my phone when I saw a notification from WhatsApp. It was a link from my class group to apply for a 6-month mentorship program in Backend Engineering. I thought, why not? I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do in tech. I had tried different things but none of them satisfied me. I had consumed too much information that I needed a break. But when I saw this link, something sparked in me. I applied for the program with a glimmer of hope.
A week later, I received a call from the mentor himself, he called me to congratulate me on making it to the next stage: the interview, to be very honest I was shocked, happy and grateful at the same time, the interview was scheduled a week later I didn’t know what I was supposed to do or how to prepare, I went online and searched for different interview questions after doing that I still felt unsure, days went by until the day of the interview came, I was interviewed by the mentor himself, he seemed very friendly and welcoming and asked me questions, I answered to the best of my abilities and then the interview was completed he told me he’d get back to me.
Few days later, a call came through and it was him calling to tell me that I have been picked as one of his mentees, I was honestly grateful and happy, because over 250 people applied, and I was 1 out of 5 amazing people chosen. The mentorship program fully started in the middle of February up until early August, we commenced the learning process, did assignments, and also hands-on projects, we were tasked seriously with challenges that made us grow as beginners.
The mentorship program taught me a lot of valuable skills, both technical and soft. On the technical side, I learnt how to use JavaScript and its superset Typescript, its runtime environment Nodejs and its framework Express. I also learnt how to use Git for version control, how to connect my runtime with a database MongoDB and how to use several other technologies. On the soft side, I learnt how to communicate effectively with my fellow mentees through Google meet and WhatsApp. I learnt how to solve problems effectively. I also learnt more about critical thinking.
There were sometimes I felt so overwhelmed with everything, I wish I had handled those times differently, I was juggling school, the mentorship program, church and my personal development, I know it doesn’t sound like a lot but trust me, it was. Going back, I realized I could have managed my time effectively, I also could have asked more questions it would have saved me a lot of time, yes, no matter how simple or seemingly ‘stupid’ your question sounds just ask, you would gain more insight from asking someone who has been through that process than checking online resources, so don’t hesitate to ask because it's all part of the learning process, there’s no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to learning and growing, your curiosity and willingness to ask will lead you to a deeper understanding of the concept.
I really benefitted a lot from the mentorship in all aspects of my life, my mentor provided us with monthly internet subscription, a workspace where we could go and do our tasks and where we also had our meetings, he also catered for other miscellaneous needs. I really am so grateful for being a part of the mentorship program, thank you Hashcode!
Finally, having a mentor or getting into a mentorship program is a very good way to kickstart your career in any field you find yourself interested in, it makes you have easier access to guidance, feedback and support, mentors can also introduce mentees to new contacts and opportunities in their field or industry.
