Blog 5-Mentorship and Research Reflection

First Blog Post after my meeting with my mentor, and I am excited for my future prospects . This Tuesday on September 9th, 2014 I  attended the El Monte City Council Open Meeting and met with my mentor, Victoria Martinez, while there. I also got the privilege of meeting with several potential mentors as well including city clerk Jonathan Hawes and Municipal Specialist Jerry Moreno who I'm looking into contacting currently. Overall, I had some questions answered and enjoyed seeing how the meeting actually functioned which is a major gain for me in regards to firsthand experience. 

1. Mentorship question: Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship?  If you haven't found one yet, describe your experience so far in the search of a mentor.
       Actually finding my mentor was surprisingly stress given that she was actually a family member who I could easily get into contact with. I had been referred to her by my mother when I offhandedly mentioned that I needed to locate a mentor, and I then proceeded to send her an email to see if she would be willing to become my mentor due to her current employment on the city council of El Monte. We arranged phone meeting wherein I explained the nature of the senior project, what interested me in regards to the subject, and what would be required of her before she agreed to be my mentor.

2. Research question: What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

 

       To date, the most important article I have read has been the article "Career Success Implications of Political Skill" as it directly relates to application. It's conclusion, that networking ranks as the highest indicator of individual success in a company structure ranks true given my own observations and logical conclusions. Acting in a genuinely appealing way to others and making connections to draw upon is a trait that has success in any field warranting interpersonal interaction. This is the kind of evidence that I feel is helpful to my overall project as this is the type of information that can be applied by people who listen to my presentation in a capacity beyond my subject alone. Genuinely useful info such as this illustrates the importance of my subject and hopefully allows it to remain in the minds of those I intend to teach moreso than other information would have.