Check in With Your Classmates

Shoot the breeze with Carlos

If you haven't met Carlos yet, it's not too late to hear his story.

A lot has happened since I started this program! After mulling over my motivations, goals and assets, I realized that by joining the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Forest City I can be a mentor of a different kind … I can help to guide the board with my information technology expertise, my corporate connections and my experiences as an "informal mentee" and a Big Brother.

I also think my participation on the board could help me to gain some skills that could be beneficial in reaching my goal of starting my own business. I'm hoping to learn more about financial management and public relations, so maybe I could get involved in these committees.

I talked to my Little Brother about it, and he thinks it's a great idea for me to join the board. He even thought it would be okay if I had to postpone our outings once in a while so I could do my board work.

I realized that, even though I already volunteer for the agency, I needed to learn more about the organization and the board. So I collected additional information and attended a board meeting. One of the items I read to get to know the organization better was its long-term plan. The board's top three goals for the next year or so include :

• Addressing the growing list of Little Brothers waiting to be matched, by recruiting 50 new Big Brothers
• Working with the school boards and local Aboriginal groups to initiate a school-based Aboriginal Mentoring Program
• Implementing the new child safety standards required by the national office, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada.

Before I commit to the board, I want to be sure I understand the broader context that the organization is operating in. So after I did the Current Issues module, I started wondering which of these issues led the board to set these goals as its priorities.

Now check out what Debra's up to.

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