Walking into my career coaching appointment senior year, I never would’ve expected to walk out with hopes of joining a new organization, let alone finding a new mentor and friend. I mean, who joins a new organization as a senior? I was nervous about not knowing anyone, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get involved. However, within weeks of joining PRSSA, I learned about the peer mentor program. Without thinking twice, I put my name on the sign-up sheet.
Not knowing what to expect, I waited for the reveal night to happen. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend the reveal, but my mentor Ellie Coldiron reached out right after. After texting for just a few minutes, we found out we were from the same area in Cincinnati! Ellie and I had taken a class together, so we knew of each other but hadn’t spent much time talking before the pumpkin carving social.
After the social, we decided that we were going to go to El Tenampa, one of our favorite restaurants. I was expecting this to be a regular dinner, maybe spending an hour at the restaurant. Instead, we ended up spending 3 hours talking about anything and everything. We talked about our classes, friendship problems, and the stress of finding an internship. I didn’t realize that someone else was experiencing the exact same things that I was.
Ellie and I hit it off right away, which is no surprise because we have so much in common. She graduated in December, so we only had one semester on campus together, but that was not the extent of our friendship. Even now, I message Ellie for help with finding internships, writing cover letters, or even simply talking about what’s new in our lives. She has been a tremendous friend, and resource for me throughout this entire year.
The peer mentor program gave me someone who validated all my fears about the future and showed me that I wasn’t alone. It showed that even being a senior, it’s okay to be a mentee. I found someone who is now a good friend of mine and who has helped me learn so much in such a short period of time. I am so thankful that my career coach suggested Scripps PRSSA. It allowed me to jump head-first into the peer mentorship program where I found more than just a mentor.
Hunter Farno is a senior communication studies major, pursuing minors in journalism and psychology, with a social media certificate. Connect with Hunter on LinkedIn here.