A Promising Future

Recently we had the pleasure of hosting a High School student to job shadow at Synapse for the day as part of the Lancaster Chamber’s Women in Business Student Mentoring Program. It was such a great experience for all of us to watch Heather, a Hempfield High School Junior, get really excited about her future career in Marketing.

I have personally mentored many students over the last few years and I can say hands down that I have gained just as much, if not more, from the experience then my mentees. Mentoring brings value to everyone involved: mentees, mentors and the organizations for which they work. Mentoring gives someone a unique opportunity to share and spread acquired learning and know-how to those who may otherwise be struggling to find their way, especially a student!

In addition to those benefits, mentoring also helps the community at large because it fosters an environment in which people work together and assist one another in their drive to become better skilled, more capable citizens. When people have the opportunity to thrive, our businesses and communities thrive as well. If you haven’t thought about mentoring or allowing a student to job shadow and see what your organization does, please consider it. I can guarantee you will feel as excited about the experience as my team did at Synapse.

We gave Heather an opportunity to share her experience with us.  Here’s what she said:

          “I recently spent a day shadowing the Synapse team at their Lancaster Headquarters. This was one of my two job shadowing experiences as a mentee in the Women in Business Mentoring Program through the Lancaster Chamber. Since I hope to major in business or marketing in college, this was a great opportunity to see if this is where my interests lie.
          From the top exec to the front line team members, everyone there was so nice and welcoming. Amanda and Jess took the time to explain a lot of things to me and were especially pleasant and patient with my initial “cluelessness.” Their operations are fast paced and fascinating. All the staff is friendly and helpful and really works together.
          I learned so much about the whole marketing field and the individual components of Synapse’s business. From their mission and values to their attention to the needs of each client, I was very impressed. While the atmosphere is somewhat casual, the team members are real professionals. They work hard to get things right and produce terrific results.
          This experience has helped me decide that I might really enjoy the marketing field. I liked the challenges and the creative feel of their operations. The people at Synapse are like a family; they all work together to get the job done. I hope that when I get older and get a job that the people that I work with are like those who work at Synapse. It was just a great day and a wonderful experience. Thanks everyone!”

We have no doubt that Heather has a very bright future ahead of her and we are thrilled that we had the opportunity to make a positive impact on her future career choices. Who knows? Heather may just be a Synapsian one day! We wish her the best of luck no matter where her future takes her.