Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Analysis:
I walked into my first mentor meeting this past week overwhelmed by
conflicting emotions. I was excited and eager to start this new part of my ISM journey,
but was worried about my original work. I had numerous varying ideas that I did not
know how to consolidate: I wanted to help the community, deliver a presentation, and
create a website. In all honesty, I was hesitant of how well I would get along with my
since I tend to shy away. However, she took this meeting to answer any questions and
allow me to get comfortable with her work environment, which extinguished all of my
When we sat down at the conference table in her room, Ms. Pertile asked me
what my goal was for this mentorship. I explained the concept of original work and
conveyed my various ideas to her. She loved how I wanted to give back to my
community because she is passionate about humanitarian efforts. Suddenly, I saw a
poster for an upcoming investments seminar and a lightbulb went off in my head.
visited my booth had one overarching concern: how to teach their kids the value of
money. Furthermore, I watched a ted talk for my previous evidence of learning which
revealed growing concerns of the lack of financial literacy in this rising generation.
Using these observations, I decided that for my original work, I plan to execute a boot
camp for the younger generation that educates them on the basics of proper financing.
Since this was too vague, my mentor and I debated about different target audiences but
settled on middle school students. We believed that they were old enough to
understand the repercussions of not budgeting, but still young enough to easily capture
their attention.
Besides identifying my idea for original work, Ms. Pertile and I brainstormed
different concepts that I could explain to the children. Since the boot camp targets
middle school children, our number one concern was to teach the concepts in a simple
way that did not overwhelm the students. We wanted the kids to first realize that there
is a monetary system in the United States and that it was not their parents. Today’s
youth often mistaken money as coming from their parents and not from their hard
work. Being able to open their eyes to how their parents had to work for their money
Complementing this topic would be a discussion about other monetary systems around
the world. I could gather different types of currencies and show them to the kids to
pique their curiosity. I remember that as kids, my cousins and I loved to collect
different currencies and put them in a scrapbook, which we even add to today. And
lastly, Ms. Pertile expressed her interest in having me discuss careers in Finance.
When we ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up, we almost never anything
in the Finance field. My mentor wants me to show the students that Finance is a viable
and thriving career path. This would allow kids who enjoyed the camp to further
research the field and even become a Finance professional in the future.
The most important topic that my mentor wants me to teach is how to budget
effectively. Since most parents asked me this question during Winter Showcase, I
decided to make this the main concept taught in the camp. During our meeting, Ms.
Pertile described to me that our purchases are categorized as either essential or
discretionary. Essential items are necessary to spend on, like car payments, utility
bills, and important groceries like bread and milk. On the other hand, discretionary
purchases are unnecessary but desired items. To rationally use that money, she
advised me to split up my discretionary funds into three baskets: spending, saving, and
charity. While the spending category will go to actually buying discretionary items, the
saving section should be put into an investment vehicle. Most people don’t realize the
time value of money. If you put 10,000 dollars into a savings account by the time you
are twenty-four, that money will become a million by your retirement due to interest.
Lastly, charity money should be used to give back to the community. Ms. Pertile
believes that aiding a person in need is extremely satisfying and fulfilling. She also sees
this bucket as instilling a charitable mindset in the youth, which is important
During my first mentor meeting, Ms. Pertile and I discussed ideas for my
original product, concepts to include in the product, and the basics of proper
as a way to use your knowledge for the benefit of society. Especially since my younger
sister is in middle school, this program establishes a personal connection between me
and my potential audience. In addition, our discussion of the timeline for original
product left me feeling prepared to tackle this last semester in ISM as I had
checkpoints and a clear vision of the end. I believe that planning and executing a boot
camp will allow me to truly test my understanding of basic financial knowledge and my
growth as a presenter. I will also need to learn how to effectively market myself and
the camp to instill a sense of trust in my audience. Most importantly, I hope that
spirit as this process will mimic starting up a company. Although I have my work cut
out for me to present a successful product, I am truly thrilled to start this semester