AIGA Charlotte asked two past mentees from past years to share the love about their experience with Mentor match up. Here is what they had to say.
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Mentee in 2011: Adam Iscrupe
In the three years I have been an AIGA member, AIGA Charlotte’s mentor program has been one of my favorite events. Having Joseph Schlosser as a mentor was one of the best experiences I had while I was a student. Not only did his expertise in the industry guide me to finding a position where I would be happy, but the program also encouraged me to get further involved with the chapter and joining the board.
During the three-month program, Joseph took me on a tour of his office where I met some of his coworkers who also shared their advice. I had him look over my portfolio and website to give me advice on how I could improve the two. An exchange of work to get each others feedback was mutual. It was great that he wanted a second opinion on some things he was working on. To this day, we still do this. Some days we would simply meet for coffee, or introduce me to a paper supplier and fill my bookshelf with paper sample books.
Joseph may have started out as my mentor, but at the end of the program I gained a new friendship.
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Mentee 2011: Laura Knight
The 2011 mentor matchup experience for me was a defining point in my life. While passionate and excited about pursuing a career of graphic design, I had no real concept of what that meant and what I wanted it to look like. I was the bug-eyed gal who wanted it all and had no direction.
Thinking back to the day of the meet and greet: To be honest I was a bit skeptical of who I was going to be paired with and what commitment level he/she would actually be up for. To my surprise it turned out to be a perfect “Jack and Jill” match. My mentor challenged me to take responsibility for my design, not just aesthetically but intelligently with conceptual solutions. There is a difference between decorating and designing. My mentor, Tim Rebich, taught me to never just make something different, but to give it meaning and significance, to make it better. Tim challenged me to look at creating in a whole different way that my design classes and personal experience had yet to teach.
Yes, through this experience I gained an understanding of what I want in the future and the knowledge of how I will accomplish that, but I also learned to enjoy the little things around me, to slow down and be inspired and not to be so hard on myself.
Fast forward two years: Through networking and staying in contact with people I met through Tim and AIGA events I was honored to have the opportunity to intern and design next to two incredible creatives at Saturday Brand Communications. From that experience I received my current job at Little Red Bird where I work under two more great designers.
Being a part of a mentorship is not “what can they give me” or “what can I gain from this”. It’s about the pure unadulterated desire to become a better designer with purpose, to be driven to push yourself harder than you ever have and to discover more about who you are, what you want and why you want it.
See Laura and Tim’s account of the experience in 2011 here and look for Laura’s presentation at this year’s kick off event on February 13.
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Want a little more mentorship love? Check out Joey Ellis and Maribeth Kiser’s account from last year.
The Mentor match up kick off event will be held at Warehouse 242 on Wednesday, February 13.
