This winter, Rylee Wahlberg, a senior at Anoka High School, participated in BestPrep’s eMentors program with her DECA Internship class. Through eMentors, Rylee was matched up with a volunteer mentor from RBC Wealth Management. They exchanged weekly messages discussing school, career experience, interviewing, and much more. Rylee and her classmates also visited RBC to meet their mentors and see where they work. We got the chance to connect with Rylee and learn more about her experience with her mentor from RBC!
Tell us more about the class you’re participating in eMentors through.
I am part of the DECA Internship. This class has two parts – a seminar and off–campus work. In our seminar so far, we have done things such as plan and execute a food drive for a local organization, bring in speakers to learn about different careers, make a budget and track our spending for a month, learn about managing money and stocks, creating a resume, and more. We are reading self-help books which can give us an edge in interviews, as well as creating and being active on LinkedIn! One of the biggest parts of our class is our district conference. We spend an entire month preparing for competitions such as interviews, roleplays, and various prepared events such as a start-up business plan to integrated marketing campaigns. Sending our mentor emails is also a big part of this class. Every Thursday, we get a new prompt and get to connect with our mentors. This gives us a great opportunity to not only learn about their career, but gain valuable insight on how to handle work-life balance and how they progressed through life professionally and personally.
Where does your mentor work and what do they do?
My mentor works for RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) and is a Senior Training and Development Consultant. She helps the financial advisors and their staff continue to grow and develop their skills so that they can continue to service their clients better. She has been in financial services for 15 years and had previously been developing different training solutions for various groups. Before I had taken part in the eMentors program, I had no idea what RBC was and didn’t know anything about the training and development field. I feel like school sets a lot of people up to go into very popular areas of work, such as nursing, finance, and engineering, but you never really hear about some of the jobs within those fields. When I think of finance, I go straight to an accountant and wouldn’t have thought about training and development. This program has definitely opened my eyes to more career options, other than just ones that people know of.
What has been your favorite part about eMentors?
My favorite part of the eMentors program has been our in-person Meet and Greet. I had a continuous conversation with my mentor and learned so much in such a condensed time period. Not to mention, connecting face to face with people is becoming more scarce, so having that in person connection is very valuable and important to me.
What have you learned from eMentors?
The biggest takeaway I have gotten from this experience is to trust the process. Life is not a straight line and it’s okay not to have the same career for 50 years. This is my second time participating in the program and on both occasions, my mentor went to school for something and is now doing something completely different. I feel as if life has taught us that you need to have a plan and that sticking to it is very important, and while I agree having a plan is essential, plans can change. I am going to school for engineering, but if down the road it’s not meant for me, I can be content. I know that I am not the only one who has decided to switch careers, so not sticking to the plan is absolutely okay.
What is a specific moment that stands out in your eMentors experience?
The in-person Meet and Greet and sharing my plans for after high school and current life updates with my mentor. I was able to share my future plans with her and get insight about how to navigate the transition between high school and college and learn about things to set me up for career success. I also feel comfortable enough to share things happening in my life with my mentor. For example, I just heard from my boss that I’ll be getting trained as a supervisor and got awarded a scholarship. Not only did I feel comfortable enough to share this with her, but I am also extremely happy that I did because of the support from my mentor! This program has found an amazing pool of mentors that I am grateful to work with!
Why should other students participate in eMentors?
I think other students should participate in the eMentors program because it’s a great opportunity to network with career professionals and a valuable way to gain knowledge about new careers, as well as helpful life tips. I’ve learned new ways to organize my schedule and discovered a new personal favorite, making time for myself. My mentor mentioned that she takes a little time each day, with minimal to no distractions, to give herself a break from the busyness of life. Not only am I gaining knowledge of the workforce, but knowledge of how to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I had such an incredible experience with this program and my mentor. I want to extend a special thanks to my mentor because our conversations have been amazing. She is such a driven and accomplished individual who truly embodies a great person with an incredible life. She not only led an accomplished career, but can balance it with her personal life; reading 52 books a year, helping a local library, and navigating her children through college. She has been such an inspiration and our time together has been great!