Upon retirement from the practice of law, I chose to support some of my passions by serving as a volunteer. When I volunteer for different organizations, I see that volunteers often want to make a difference immediately so they can feel like they are changing lives. Working with Step Up, I have seen that while mentors are an important part of a team that does bring about change in the lives of individual girls, it is a collaborative effort that can't be rushed. I have come to believe that the expression, "less is more," is a great motto for mentorship.
Playing a supporting role
When I attended Step Up's after-school programming and mentoring events as a Step Up member, I saw how the curriculum empowers girls to respect themselves, express their points of view, believe that they can do anything and work toward their dreams. I think that, as Step Up mentors, we play an important but supporting role in reinforcing Step Up's message. I see our role as a bridge between the classroom and the working world. It strengthens and validates the Step Up message when the girls hear us repeat what they are learning from their Step Up facilitators
When I finished law school in 1980, my class was about one third women, which represented a big jump from the prior year. At the time, we weren't just lawyers we were "women lawyers." Some of the good old boys would say they could see hiring a "woman lawyer" if they could keep her out of sight and in the back room reviewing documents. In contrast, when seasoned lawyers in the "establishment" saw us as potential litigators, we started to see ourselves succeeding in the courtroom.
Keeping it simple
When we, as representatives of various professions, tell Step Up girls that we believe in them and that their voices are needed in government, business, law, medicine, science and the arts, we hope that they feel empowered and welcomed into our worlds. We cannot fix the problems these girls face. We cannot change their lives in a single day and we should not try. We don't need to give them advice or try too hard to solve their problems. Rather, I have found that we are the most effective when we keep it simple, follow the lead of the program facilitators and work together as part of the team, to build confidence in Step Up girls. By our presence, support and encouragement, we inspire the girls to believe in their own dreams and empower them to succeed. While we won't have tangible evidence of our impact in a single day, the true power of our mentorship is shown in the confidence that Step Up seniors exhibit when they are preparing to move on to college.
