That's what happened to me when one of my colleagues shared their experience participating in a youth mentoring program through the Raise Foundation. The program facilitates volunteer mentors to engage with students in years 7 to 9, providing early intervention and personalised support aimed at assisting them in navigating their mental health, social and emotional well-being, and achieving academic success.

While working as a business analyst Origin Energy I attended a company town hall meeting, at which a colleague gave a short presentation on his involvement in Raise’s youth mentoring program. His enthusiasm and sense of accomplishment caught my attention, particularly as he didn't strike me as the type of person who would engage in volunteer mentoring. Intrigued, I made inquiries to sign up myself.

Embarking on my youth mentorship journey

My own youth mentoring journey kicked off by reaching out to Raise online to express my interest in taking part. You can volunteer as a representative of your workplace, so I volunteered on behalf of the Origin Energy Foundation - the philanthropic arm of Origin that focuses on supporting education programs that help break the cycle of disadvantage.

Raise Foundation’s youth mentor program requires a commitment of weekly two-hour mentoring sessions, spanning 20 weeks across two-and-a-half school terms from April to October. Understanding the importance of this commitment, I ensured it aligned with my family and work responsibilities. I opted to mentor a student from a nearby school, conveniently located just a couple of suburbs away.

Thanks to Origin’s flexible work culture, I designated Wednesdays, from lunchtime to 2pm, for mentoring sessions at the school. Both my people leader and team colleagues were incredibly supportive of my decision to volunteer and the development opportunity it provided. Their encouragement really helped me juggle my work responsibilities while participating in the program. Their support also reinforced my belief in the importance of a workplace culture that values teamwork, personal growth and giving back to the community.

Once approved, Raise provided me with excellent mentor training – a short yet insightful course. It covered the essential dos and don'ts of youth mentoring, along with practical coaching concepts and processes to improve mentorship effectiveness.

Each school taking part in the program, selects up to 15 young mentees, aged 13-15 whom they believe will benefit most from the mentoring program. The next step involves gathering all approved mentors for this round of mentoring to meet with the selected mentees in what is termed a "Jitters Session." This session aims to foster camaraderie and assess the compatibility between mentors and mentees, before the program counsellor matches them up for the weekly mentoring sessions that come next.

Helping my mentee grow in confidence and resilience

I was paired with a 14-year-old male student in Year 9. During each mentoring session, the focus wasn’t on completing homework or solving math equations together. Instead, it was about fostering resilience, self-confidence, and purpose, and empowering students to overcome hurdles to help them realise their true potential. The student I was matched with was having some trouble with confidence and staying focused at school, so each week we focused on helping him feel surer of himself and stay on track with his studies.

Hanging out with teenagers one-on-one can sometimes be a bit awkward, and it can be tough to keep the conversation flowing. I discovered that it's okay to veer off-topic I found a key to having good sessions was being comfortable with going off-topic from personal development discussions. During our sessions, we often found ourselves casually discussing topics we both enjoyed or that I knew he was interested in, such as Xbox games or rugby league. Sometimes, we'd even play a few rounds of Uno for fun. Eventually, we'd steer the conversation back to personal growth topics. If I ever got stuck, it was reassuring to know I could turn to the program counsellor who led the mentor sessions that directly followed the mentoring each week for extra help.

At the conclusion of the 20-week program, all the mentees and mentors got together for a relaxed mini-graduation at the school. As a parting gesture each mentor and mentee exchanged farewell letters. Having my mentee read my letter right there and seeing how much it meant to him was special. Likewise, reading his letter later and discovering how much he valued our mentorship and the positive impact it had on him was incredibly rewarding.

Lasting benefits from youth mentoring

Volunteering as a youth mentor brings immense satisfaction in knowing that you've positively impacted a young person's life, aiding in their growth and success. Beyond this fulfillment, the experience has also equipped me with valuable, transferable skills that have benefitted my work and family life.

To excel as a youth mentor, I found it important to attentively listen to the concerns and aspirations of my mentee, and using the insights gained from those discussions to better provide guidance and support. Through practising this, I've enhanced my leadership abilities by prioritising active listening and empowering team members to devise their own solutions, rather than imposing my own. This approach aligns with Origin’s leadership habit of 'coaching rather than commanding,' which encourages managers to adopt a supportive and guiding leadership style. By embracing this approach, it has enabled me to have more effective one-to-ones with my team, facilitating their faster growth in terms of personal development.

The mentor support sessions cover numerous psychological concepts that are not only relevant and beneficial to your mentoring sessions but also extend their applicability to your corporate environment and personal life. These concepts include understanding emotional intelligence, implementing effective communication strategies, mastering conflict resolution techniques, and cultivating a positive work culture that fosters collaboration and productivity.

Volunteering provides more than just a sense of community connection and personal fulfillment; it offers hands-on personal and professional development opportunities that traditional courses often cannot match. Just as I was inspired by my colleague's impactful volunteering experience, I hope sharing my own journey will motivate you to explore opportunities like mentoring youth or other avenues to help make a positive impact, enrich, your professional development and broaden your horizons.

Tom Sheppard is an enterprise business analyst with over 10 years of experience in delivering transformational projects and programmes across various industries, including energy, heavy vehicle regulation, finance and government. He is currently a Long Term Planning Analyst at Origin Energy, where he shapes and guides the Asset East development strategy in the Australia Pacific LNG project. He is passionate about enabling organisations to achieve their strategic goals through innovative and effective solutions.