The Milestone Institute was one of the few organisations that Theresa Bubbear, Ambassador of Great Britain to Hungary, invited to the British Embassy’s Women’s Day Speed Mentoring Event on 7th March.
The essence of this event was to give the invited girls a chance to talk with women working in important social or business positions on the occasion of women’s day. All students had the opportunity to chat with three “mentors” chosen by them, taking 10 minutes per mentor.
For example, among others, Colleen Bell, the Ambassador of the USA to Hungary, Csurgai Csilla,Executive Director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary, Lisa Helfand, Canada’s ambassador to Hungary, Claire Roger, managing director of GlaxoSmithKline were present on this meeting, and another 10, similarly successful and acknowledged ladies. The purpose of the event was that the mentors could give advice and coaching to the students. The questions raised were related to their career, job and private life, but the mentors were also ready to answer any other questions which were important for the girls.
The evening was started by Theresa Bubbear’s introduction, and then on a large board the students registered themselves to the preferred mentors and the preferred time slot. Altogether there were 8 rounds, therefore a total time of 8×10 minutes were available for discussion.
The mentors received the students in two of the Embassy’s saloons, at separate tables. The rounds started and finished with a bell’s ring. Between the mentor talks, the girls could chat with each other, or made notes from their talks with the mentors.
This event was an enormous experience and honour for me. This is not only because I had the opportunity to meet these successful ladies, but also I have received valuable guidance that I can utilize in the future, irrespectively of my future studies or career.
It was very inspiring, for example when Colleen Bell said: “It does not matter that you are a woman; just be determined, focused, and take your chances. I would not be the USA’s ambassador to Budapest now if I had given up the fight with the Senate; it was hard, but I have succeeded in getting the appointment.“