iMentor Blog

Mentor of the Month: Kel Huang

iMentor Posted on August 31, 2011 - 2:17pm

From left: Renzo V. and Kel Huang

Mentor: Kel Huang

Length of Match: Second year of four-year match

Mentee Name: Renzo V.

Mentee’s School: Urban Assembly School for Careers in Sports

Distinction: Kel is passionate about mentoring and a motivating force

Kel Huang knows what it takes to make a difference with his mentee, Renzo. Since their first meeting, Kel has dedicated himself to providing consistent support and guidance. As Kel explained, he considers a mentor to be “someone you can always count on to be there for you. It’s someone that gives advice, but, above all, is someone you can count on for support through the good times as well as the bad.” Kel demonstrates this by consistently attending monthly events and crafting thoughtful weekly emails to his mentee.

Kel has proven to be a careful listener and trusted confidant for Renzo. He helped focus Renzo’s personal interests toward achieving academic and career goals. During the school year, one of iMentor’s email writing prompts focused on the importance of career fairs. Kel used this prompt as an opportunity to help Renzo link his current academic successes and personal interests to career paths that can be discovered through job fairs. In his email, Kel pointed out Renzo’s strong math skills and passion for sports, emphasizing that Renzo could explore jobs that would play to his strengths, such as accounting and sports management. Kel also provided Renzo with links to online resources where he could find more information about several careers, including jobs in sports that involve numerical and statistical analysis. Through their work together, Kel helped Renzo discover that many sports, such as baseball and basketball, focus heavily on data-crunching, and that many executives need people like Renzo who are good at math to give them advice.

In addition to being a great mentor, Kel spreads the word about iMentor to all of his friends-- he has recruited more than 40 of his colleagues. This year, Kel participated in iMentor’s Online Donor Drive, a “friendraising” campaign enabling mentors to share stories about their mentoring relationships to procure donations to support iMentor’s work. Kel’s campaign raised more than $1,200 for iMentor and he also made a personal contribution.

“I have a strong belief in iMentor and its mission. As the statistics show, iMentor helps more students graduate and go to college – I think that’s incredibly important. I’ve always been a big believer in mentoring.”

Kel is committed to going above and beyond what is required to help his mentee, Renzo, and to stay involved in the iMentor community.

Ready to get involved? Become a Mentor Today!

Citi Volunteers Are Making a Difference

iMentor Posted on August 12, 2011 - 12:29pm

This year, Citi’s New York Volunteer Council has engaged more than 40 Citi employees as volunteer mentors with iMentor. Matched with students from New York City’s most underserved communities, Citi volunteers shared their insights and expertise to help guide and motivate their mentees towards high school graduation and college success.

These dedicated Citi volunteers provided 1,350 hours of volunteer service to iMentor, working on various activities with their mentees such as college and scholarship applications, writing resumes and practicing interview skills. Most importantly, they developed strong relationships with their mentees and supported them to achieve their goals. Anika, a mentee in iMentor’s program wrote to her mentor, Jamie Anzellotti, a Citi employee, “You have helped me a lot this year, knowing where to go and what I need to do to achieve my goals. I thank you for that and for being there for me. I think I may have one of the most dedicated mentors.”

Citi volunteers are working with students across New York City, but have a particularly strong presence at ACORN Community High School in Brooklyn, where more than 20 Citi volunteers are matched. All mentor-mentee pairs at ACORN are enrolled in iMentor’s College Success program, iMentor’s latest initiative focused on high school graduation, college enrollment, and a successful transition through freshman year of college. Our CEO, Mike O’Brien, has taken notice, saying, “Mentors from Citi are providing critical support to their mentees and helping them make college a reality.”

One Citi mentor is particularly devoted to iMentor and his mentee. Patrick Curley, a VP at Citi and a long-time iMentor volunteer, is currently in his third, two-year match. Patrick feels lucky to be paired with his mentee, Mark. He said, “I can honestly say that Mark is an exceptional kid - always smiling, selfless, and always looking for ways to help others. Not seeing Mark graduate and go off to college is not an option as far as I am concerned, so he and I are focused on getting him all the resources he needs to finish school and get into a top college.” Patrick and his fellow Citi mentors have committed themselves to ensuring that their mentees have all of the guidance and information they need to succeed in high school, college, and beyond.

What will your iMentor story be? Join Citi’s dedicated volunteers as iMentor matches 2,400 mentees this fall. Become a mentor today.

iMentor Corporate Council Member Discusses How Mentoring Promotes Career Success for Women

Posted on August 4, 2011 - 4:41pm

Stephanie Ruhle, Managing Director, Relationship Management at Deutsche Bank, shared her thoughts on the importance of female role models in empowering women in business on TheGlassHammer.com. In her professional and personal life, Stephanie is committed to supporting women achieve leadership roles.

Stephanie explains in the profile that through her role as a Corporate Council member at iMentor, she helps recruit mentors from Deutsche and other banks to mentor New York City students toward high school and college success. Even beyond college, the positive benefits of mentoring can have a lasting impact. Stephanie says it best: “We need more girls in New York City to graduate high school and graduate college. We need to give women and girls every tool possible to succeed. If we start from the bottom and give girls the educational foundation and early career support, we are getting them in the game.”

iMentor’s Corporate Council is a select group of senior executives dedicated to increasing iMentor’s scope and impact exponentially. To learn more about the Corporate Council and corporate partnership opportunities contact, contact Julia Love, Director of Corporate Partnerships.

iMentor's 2nd Annual, "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black" Event

Keith Miller Posted on August 2, 2011 - 12:36pm

iMentor’s 2^ndAnnual, “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black” event was incredibly successful. On July 21^st, about 100 working professionals gathered at the Nightingale Lounge to celebrate community and the importance of mentoring in the Black community. This year’s event had four key sponsors: The Black Ivy Alumni League, The Fab Network, The New York Chapter of the National Black MBA Associationand The United Negro College Fund. The event was composed of current mentors, prospective mentors, and representatives from sponsoring organizations.

July’s Mentors of the Month, Kavan Brandon and Bernier Lauredan, shared their iMentor experiences as well as the personal and professional impact mentoring has had on their lives. Kavan described his first meeting with his mentee, Aneury, and how they bonded instantly through their love of soccer. Bernier described his excitement when his mentee, Jose, crafted a long email expressing his thanks for Bernier being his mentor. While sharing their stories, a host of nods and smiles mirrored their own excitement about making an impact in the lives of a student. Attendees were touched as both mentors described how iMentor supported and empowered them through their matches. After these stories, the room buzzed with excitement as attendees learned more about iMentor.

This year’s “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black” event demonstrated one very important fact: there are hundreds of working professionals excited about giving back through mentoring.

Be a part of the movement. Fill out our Online Application– Become a Mentor Today!