Name: Max Cameron Jones
Course: Chemical Engineering, First Year
I have found mentoring a very enjoyable, insightful and exciting experience. Throughout the year I have found the mentoring relationship an enjoyable one. I have looked forward to the arranged calls with my mentor, as I knew I was going to find out more about the oil and gas industry. Overall I am very grateful of all the time and effort my mentor put into the relationship which has made it so successful. I will continue to keep in touch as a contact in the industry.
During the year I applied for a BP scholarship that required an application and face to face interview. My mentor was very useful in being able to help in the interview process, as she was able to use her own experiences to help me structure and practise my answers. This was extremely beneficial to me as I was successful in being accepted on to the Scholarship scheme which has since opened many career and networking opportunities.
There’s a strong business case for mentoring, and although it’s important to encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers, that’s not why I do it. I find sharing my experiences (good and bad!) to help someone else find and navigate a career path immensely rewarding. Mentoring Max has been easy because he’s always so prepared for our chats! It took us about a year to actually meet face-to-face, but this hasn’t hindered the mentoring relationship—we’ve stayed in touch via email and phone calls on a monthly basis.