NYNY Fellows Program Spotlight: 2012 Fellow - Mentor Coach Pair Josh and Gil
NYNY's flagship program, the Fellows Program is an intensive two-year mentoring and training program where Fellows are matched one-on-one with highly-accomplished professional Mentor Coaches dedicated to their personal and professional growth.
Today 2012 Mentor Coach Gilbertson Cuffy and 2012 Fellow Joshua are discussing their NYNY experience, the Fellow-Mentor Coach matching process, and their mentoring relationship.
NYNY: Please introduce yourselves to our readers:
Josh: I am a rising junior at New York University. I am majoring in Applied Psychology with a minor in Business. I would describe myself as very outgoing and charismatic. I love hanging out with friends. I love to laugh, enjoy entertaining others, and truly enjoy being the center of attention. I am a collegiate baseball athlete and I am very competitive.
Gil: I am a graduate of the University of Miami, BBA Marketing, and Nova Southeastern University, MBA. Currently I am an Innovation Brand Manager for Finish Dishwashing Detergents at Reckitt Benckiser, which allows me to work on new product launches for Finish across Europe and North America. In my spare time I like to work on my blog www.urbansocialguide.com (which is really just a front for me to feel obligated to visit different lounges and restaurants) where I comment on my experiences with food, culture and then offer advice on being a young professional in the concrete jungle.
NYNY: How did you become involved with NYNY?
Josh: I first heard about NYNY as a freshman at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. A mentor of my older brother by the name of Ken Merin told me about the Program and I decided to apply.
Gil: A good friend from undergrad (University of Miami), Chris Polanco, was a Mentor Coach and invited me to attend a workshop. I had a chance to meet the Fellows, the Mentor Coaches and the staff and I was hooked. I knew right away that I needed to be a part of the life changing impact that NYNY has in deserving students’ lives.
NYNY: Did you expect that you would be matched as a Fellow-Mentor Coach pair? Were you nervous before the matching ceremony?
Gil: Fortunately NYNY does a good job of allowing the Fellows to get to know the Mentor Coaches in the workshops prior to matching date. I think during one of those workshops Josh and I really connected so I think I was pretty sure that in the end we would be paired up. When matching ceremony came I guess I wasn’t nervous because I knew that Josh was the right fit.
Josh: I did expect and was hopeful that Gil would be my Mentor Coach. I wasn't very nervous, rather anxious to see whether or not he would be. Although I am sure that any other Mentor Coach I would have been paired up with would have been great, Gil was my number one choice and my mind was set on having him as my Mentor Coach.
NYNY: Were you able to meet and talk to many Mentor Coaches and Fellows before you were matched? What was your strategy?
Josh: I did speak to several Mentor Coaches before I met with Gil. Gil was actually the last Mentor Coach I had spoken to before our choices had to be made. My strategy was to find someone whose personality was similar to mine. I wanted someone who had similar interests as me and whose personality gelled well with mine. Gil was the perfect fit. He’s a star under pressure and is competitive, but is not a sore loser. He loves to entertain. He’s very outgoing and just a complete Renaissance man. I am not too sure if there could ever be a Fellow-Mentor Coach pair as perfect as me and Gil! I think the most important think to look for in a Mentor Coach is a genuine connection. Having the same industry of interest may not necessarily matter too much, or rather should not be the only reason why you choose a particular Mentor Coach.
Gil: NYNY has a great matching process where you are able to meet the Fellows during the workshops before you get matched. During that time I was able to meet many Fellows, exchanged contacts with a few and began to build a connection. Though you will only get matched with one person the Fellows are able to have ongoing communication and seek advice from all Mentor Coaches so as a result I still maintain communication with several Fellows and they continue to update me on their progress.
NYNY: Josh, what were you looking for in a Mentor Coach?
Josh: I was looking for someone who I thought I could connect with and could talk to, not simply somebody I saw as a great source for networking and someone who could help further my career. I knew that all Mentor Coaches would be willing to help each Fellow in that sense.
NYNY: Gil, what were you looking for in a Fellow?
Gil: I was looking for a Fellow who had drive. I think NYNY can teach you how to interview well, what a great resume and cover letter combination looks like and all about mastering the perfect elevator pitch, all of these things are great tools in your tool kit and will truly help create opportunities for Fellows, but the tool most important to me is more innate and that is the ability to be a go getter. I needed a Fellow who had a hunger to want to succeed despite any obstacles that came their way because I knew that they would be the best suited to actually use the tools NYNY will give them to truly become successful.
NYNY: The 2013 Class’ Matching Ceremony will be on September 7th. Do you want to share anything with the 2013 Fellows and Mentor Coaches who still don’t know who they will be working with for the next two years and might be a little bit anxious?
Gil: Stop worrying. The goal is not to have the perfect match, the goal is to make the biggest impact with the match that you get. Remember that the mentorship relationship is reciprocal so expect to get out of it as much as you put in and you will realize in short time that this is exactly what happens.
Josh: I’d say speak to as many people as possible, and try and make sure you remember faces. Try to get to know each Fellow and Mentor Coach as much as possible within the time allowed. Build a connection.
NYNY: How did your mentoring relationship develop?
Gil: It’s an everyday process, as we continue to get to know each other and as we continue to reveal more about ourselves, the mentorship relationship gets stronger.
Josh: I think our relationship grew the most when I began the transfer application process to NYU. Gil was very helpful, and wasn’t afraid to push me and stay on top of me. He definitely didn’t baby me but met me half way. We have met up a number of times outside of workshops which has also allowed us to better understand each other and maintain our connection.
NYNY: Gil, what’s an issue that you didn't initially feel you had the resources/ability to help your Fellow overcome, but were able to? How did you do it?
Gil: Being that I was not from NYC originally I was not familiar with the college transfer process from a community college to a 4-year school here within New York. Fortunately NYNY was very familiar with this process and created avenues for me to learn allowing me to help Josh in this process; including a speakers panel exactly on this topic. In the end we were both able to learn the process, worked together through the application process and he was successfully admitted into NYU and is starting there this fall!
NYNY: What areas of improvement and strength did you identify as you began your mentoring relationship?
Gil: I wanted to make sure that I held true to being very responsive to Josh’s requests and needs. If he gave me something to review, i.e. resume, or applications I wanted to make sure that I gave him my feedback right away. There are many distractions that can happen from work to home and I just wanted to make sure that I prioritized Josh’s needs amongst those things. I genuinely like people and I genuinely like Josh. It is not a chore to do something for someone when you actually like the person.
Josh: I think my area of strength is my ambition and relentlessness. I could still improve on the way I carry myself professionally.
NYNY: What did you learn about your communication style from your mentoring experience?
Gil: I have learned that I am very direct which I think is helping me even with my interactions with subordinates or cross functional partners at work. I am referring to the ability to clearly communicate tasks that need to be completed and accomplishing this without sounding like a dictator. NYNY really helps provide a good proving ground for my own work life.
Josh: I've learned how to improve my body language in a professional setting as well as the way I speak.
NYNY: What did you find out you had in common?
Gil: We are both characters (if you've ever seen Josh and I do a skit you will know what I mean), who dream very big and the word “no” is only a temporary setback. I think Josh has a drive that is very similar to my own and because of that I know he will go far.
Josh: Our personalities are very similar. We are outgoing, entertainers, enjoy being in the spotlight, improvise under pressure, and we love sports. Our favorite basketball team is the Miami Heat, and we both live in Harlem. We literally live at a 3-5 minute walking distance away from each other.
NYNY: What is your favorite part about participating in the NYNY Fellows Program?
Gil: I think it is the collective experience of working with Josh, with the other Fellows, with great Mentor Coaches and great staff.
Josh: My favorite part about being a NYNY Fellow is being around other ambitious young adults who are striving for a bright future. I also truly appreciate having someone like Gil that I can reach out to for help while in the process of realizing my college and career potential.