We are delighted to announce that Mosaic’s Hero of the Month for January 2013 is Faith James.

Faith is a busy solicitor at International Law Firm DLA Piper and has only quite recently started her mentoring journey with Mosaic at City of Leeds School. Organised and efficient, Faith coordinates all the internal meetings for her group within DLA.

City of Leeds School were presented with a big challenge at their first session. Five mentors had been recruited for what should have been a group of 20 mentees; however the School had actually recruited 32 mentees! Faced with the real possibility of having to downsize the group of students, Faith stepped up to the challenge and played a pivotal role in recruiting three more mentors from DLA, ensuring the group could go ahead as planned.

Yorkshire Regional Manager Nabila Ayub commented: “I really value the team work, coordination and leadership skills Faith has displayed within her group of mentors. Faith is responsive and will always take the initiative to ensure her team is up to date, have access to all the resources they need to run the sessions and will coordinate with myself and the school at all times. Well done Faith!”

Our thanks and congratulations go to Faith!

We asked Faith a few questions about herself and her mentoring experiences.

How long have you been volunteering as a Mosaic mentor for?
I started volunteering with Mosaic in October of this year so whilst it has only been three months, it has been an amazing experience so far.

What motivated you to want to become a mentor?
I wanted to use some of my skills and experience to encourage the mentees to think about how they can shape their own future. A mentor should be able to assist mentees in lifting their expectations and really inspire them to invest in themselves and live a life of purpose.

Please tell us about a particular rewarding or special experience you have had as a mentor.
In the first session of mentoring, our team led a session on the topic of role models. By engaging the mentees in discussion and by valuing their opinions, I could see that they began to look at personal character traits from a different point of view and appreciate how interesting and unique each person really is. I am looking forward to building on this great start in future sessions.

What have you found challenging about mentoring?
Only slight nerves on the first icebreaker session. Since then, it has been really rewarding.

And what do you do when you’re not volunteering?
I have been fortunate to complete my legal training at DLA Piper and qualified as a solicitor into DLA Piper’s Leeds restructuring team in September.

Would you recommend being a Mosaic mentor to others?
Yes definitely – The Mosaic programme is a great way to meet other mentors and to use our collective experience to challenge and influence the mentees and to inspire them to reach their potential.

What makes a good mentor?
Being organised, having an enquiring mind, commitment and a sense of humour!

What makes a good mentor?
• Someone who is dedicated to the cause
• A solution finder
• Relationship management skills
• Believes in themselves, so that they can motivate you to believe in yourself
• A good listener and has a different perspective
• Someone who has the knowledge, life experience or the contacts to signpost you in the right direction.
• Someone who is enthusiastic and confident
• Someone who is easily approachable
• Someone who is willing to help and learn on the journey to mutually benefit all concerned.

Would you like to be a mentor like Faith? We are recruiting more mentors across the UK and we would love to hear from you. Find out more about how you can get involved.