Mentorship: Leading by example and learning from experience

By Vicki Christian and Margaret Farnham
Fisher College of Business

men∙tor (noun): an experienced and trusted adviser; (verb): to advise or train, especially someone less experienced

At Fisher, the word mentor — whether a noun or verb — is synonymous with making an impact.

Alumni and students who serve as mentors regularly offer their time and talents to students in a variety of areas, from navigating campus life and the sometimes-daunting social sphere to exploring internship and career opportunities.

These mentors provide advice and a listening ear. They speak from experience, a sense of gratitude and a desire to give back.

Guidance, advice and shared experiences

A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Matilda Slade found she needed a little assistance navigating college life and academic decisions far away from her family. The Fisher Peer Mentor Program (FPMP) matched her with fellow Fisher student Alaa Giwelli, who offered support and words of wisdom.

“Alaa mentored me on professional development, career planning and navigating opportunities within Fisher,” said Matilda, a first-year marketing student. “She taught me to be proactive in planning my future career and the importance of keeping my options open.”

Alaa, who graduated in autumn 2025, became a mentor after guiding her two younger sisters while they were growing up. She parlayed that experience into helping new students make a smooth transition into college.

Adjusting to a large university campus, living alone for the first time and balancing academics with a social life is no easy task. Alaa wanted to help Matilda and another first-year marketing student discover their individual identities and values.

“It can be confusing as a young woman to understand how to be a leader, how to align your actions with the things that you value,” said Alaa.

Being a mentor meant being supportive, building trust and helping her peers become the best version of themselves, while guiding them in their goals.

“You need to be able to step back and observe yourself from the outside,” she advised them. “Don’t take things too personally and don’t let your feelings act as facts.”

Understanding her mentees’ goals and struggles helped Alaa connect with them. She said her second mentee, a commuter student like herself, wanted to find ways to be part of campus life while juggling many responsibilities.

With Matilda, Alaa found they both had strong values, an interest in finance and a desire to find new ways to interact with fellow students.

“Matilda found it difficult to talk to her fellow classmates, so I gave her tips on how to strike up a conversation,” Alaa said. “All the changes with coming to a new school from out of state could sometimes be uncomfortable for her, so I’d do regular check-ins and offer up possible solutions for things she was facing.”

Alaa also offered career tips she wished she had received: the importance of networking, preparing for internships and best practices for résumé writing.

“Alaa made me feel better about not being completely sure on what I want to do in the business field,” said Matilda. “She helped me realize being creative is a strength of mine, and marketing would allow me to capitalize on this skill much more than finance would. She weighed the pros and cons of both majors with me and helped me decide to change my major from finance to marketing.”

As a recent graduate, Alaa reflected on the changes she has seen in both students. Matilda has become more comfortable with her Ohio State surroundings, grown her own community and made smart decisions regarding life at college. Her other mentee is reaching her academic goals and has joined several student organizations.

“They’ve both overcome personal things in their life and have been able to bring down all the background noise, so that they can focus on their education,” Alaa said. “It’s been great seeing them grow — I feel like their big sister.”

Value, affirmation and gratitude

Stuart Heflin (MBA ’07) speaks about his mentee, Kavya Jayanthi, with parental pride. The father of two daughters encourages and affirms Kavya much like he would his own children and the young employees of Peet’s Coffee, where he serves as president.

“What I can give Kavya are things you can’t really study,” said Stuart. “What I can tell her is, ‘here is what you can expect in life.’ She will come across challenges, and what I can do is continue to affirm and encourage her to build resilience and stay focused.”

Stuart has served as a mentor to the fourth-year honors marketing student since autumn 2024. They meet once a month over Zoom to catch up on their families and talk about Kavya’s internships and her upcoming job with Procter & Gamble.

“You have one benefit that this person doesn’t have, and that is the benefit of time and experience,” said Stuart, who was paired with Kavya through Fisher’s Alumni Undergraduate Mentor Program (AUMP).

Before going to work for the California-based coffee manufacturer, Stuart served as the senior vice president for Simply Good Foods USA, Inc. He also spent 12 years in operations and brand management at P&G, where Kavya completed an internship and where she will go to work full time after graduation.

Stuart provided her with valuable insight into the P&G culture and the city of Chicago prior to her internship at their office there.

“It was super helpful because he had a lengthy career at P&G,” said Kavya. “I was also able to talk to him about my past internships, and how I wanted this one to be different and something I wanted to convert into my full-time career.”

Stuart was not surprised when Kavya’s successful internship secured her a sales manager role with her dream company.

“She is a very unique individual, super smart and mature well beyond her years,” he said. “She is extremely dedicated, hardworking and focused but also extremely kind and warm.”

Kavya is a 2025 Pace Setters Award recipient, recognized by Fisher for her academic and leadership achievements. She also serves as chief learning officer of Youth for STEM Equity and is a member of Ohio State’s chapter of the professional fraternity Delta Sigma Pi and Fisher’s Honors Leadership program.

“I am matched with someone who is destined to be great,” Stuart said. “I’ve learned a lot from her, I really have.”

“It forces you to be sharp and intentional about how you coach and mentor, even how you show up in a meeting,” he added. “You need to understand more about yourself to help them be better. With a person like Kavya, her level of discipline and focus challenges you to think ‘Am I doing enough?’ ‘Am I pushing myself to be better?’ I think she is an inspiration in that regard.”

After she landed her job, Stuart connected Kavya with one of his former P&G colleagues, who Kavya now imagines will become her mentor in the workplace.

But more than the career advice and connections, Kavya appreciates the affirmation Stuart continually provides.

“The biggest thing about Stuart is how he lifts people up and continuously encourages and affirms you,” said Kavya. “He made me realize I had what it takes to go into that internship with P&G, and that I would be able to succeed.”

It is a trait that she has carried into her role as a Fisher Peer Impact Consultant with the Undergraduate Leadership and Engagement Office.

“Stuart helped me see that I am putting in the hard work and that my work is valuable, and I want to make sure that other students see that too,” said Kavya, who has a long-standing mentor-mentee relationship with another Fisher student. “I am constantly making sure I am elevating her accomplishments and making her realize how special she is.”

That affirmation builds confidence, a characteristic that students often struggle to attain.

“Confidence is key, especially entering the corporate world,” said Kavya. “Having confidence in what you’re doing allows others to have confidence in you.”

Stuart believes this affirmation is extremely important for young people embarking on their careers.

“I didn’t have that,” he said. “I was doing what I thought was the right thing and what I thought was best. It turned out to be mostly right, but encouragement is powerful for young people.”

His pride in Kavya’s success is matched only by his pride in Ohio State, a pride that brought him to the role of mentor.

“It’s not really about a particular mentee,” said Stuart, who also received his undergraduate degree from Ohio State. “It’s about supporting the university and making sure that the university continues to thrive by providing an excellent education and mentorship opportunities.”

“Ohio State is on my résumé. It’s where I came from. It’s a part of who I am. If you are a person like me, who also wants to invest in people and individuals, why not do it in a way that supports these institutions that were such a big part of who you became.”

And that’s another lesson Kavya learned from her mentor.

“He taught me how important the alumni network is,” she said. “It has made such an impact on my career that I want to be an active mentoring alumna once I graduate.”