Article by Danny Laurence (Q19)

What does it mean to be a QUEST mentor? If you ask Andreia Rauta (or Andie, as I have come to known her), her response would be “Rid the streets of crime by night and teach through real-world opportunities by day.”

Alright, so that first part may be a stretch, but I have to say that my relationship with Andie is shaping up to lead to a plethora of opportunities for us both. You could say that I am the Robin to her Batman. Even though we have just started our journey together, we have already discussed a lot of what we want to accomplish through our QUEST relationship.

After being matched, my correspondence with Andie was brief and casual; both Andie and I were busy, me with school and her with work. We decided to talk business after the QUEST 20th Anniversary. When the time came around, Andie frankly asked “what do you want out of me?” and my stomach dropped. Honestly, I hadn’t put too much thought into my goals for our relationship.

Luckily for me, Andie had been thinking about our relationship in depth. She started with just the basic things; she could easily be a sounding board for my ideas and a professional contact. However, she also suggested that I get on board with a few projects of hers. It occurred to me this could be a mini-490 experience for me; I could get a lot of meaning out of working with Andie. As I plan to move forward with my professional and personal relationship with Andie, I’m sure you are curious about exactly what these projects are. Similar to other QUEST endeavors, I am not at liberty to discuss the nature of these projects at this time. If all goes well, however, I’m sure you will hear about the great things that come out of my mentor relationship with Andie in the near future.

Toward the end of our first conversation, Andie asked me, “What do you want to do when you graduate college?” To that, I replied “Something meaningful.” I am confident that my participation in the alumni mentor program will help me achieve that goal.