“You don’t have to wait until you are an executive to make a difference.”
This sentiment comes from senior Dwight Bowman who recently completed a virtual internship at Amazon. He, and fellow senior and Amazon intern Alaina Gork, were looking for a way to give back while they worked on their internships.
Bowman and Gork were completing their internship experiences at Cornerstone Church in Portage, which provided a workspace, well-situated for social distancing, for several interns. Bowman attends the church and saw an opportunity to mentor Evan Chapdelaine, his pastor’s son who was just beginning his high school experience.
“Over the years, I was fortunate to have great mentors that helped me get to where I am today,” says Bowman. “Through the opportunities I’ve had as a college student and my internship experience at Amazon, I felt that it was my time to start giving back to the next generation, so I sought out someone in our local church who would be interested in developing their skills and getting exposure to different career paths.”
The goal was for Bowman and Gork to pass on skills gained in the sales and business marketing program at the Haworth College of Business, and through career readiness programming and other opportunities at WMU, to Chapdelaine.
“Dwight and I both thought about how much we both wished we knew some basic interpersonal and professional skills at a younger age,” says Gork. “We had some free time in our days where we wanted to add value, but in a different way. I never considered that I could mentor someone at this age, I thought ‘I’m only 21 what could I possibly offer?’ I answered my own question and discovered I can share a lot!”
Bowman and Gork met with Chapdelaine three times per week over the course of the summer, covering everything from building a resume to interview etiquette. And now that their internships are over, both are still maintaining that relationship and plan to check in with him, excited to see Chapdelaine progress through school and eventually interview for his first job.
“From my first year of high school, I was blessed to have numerous mentors that made an impact on my life,” says Bowman. “One thing that all my mentors told me was, ‘As you’re being blessed with opportunities, never forget how you got started and remember to pay it forward.’”