Peer Mentoring...is that a stretch?

        OH! I forgot to mention that we had a peer mentoring session today as well.  Will Webb's friend's daughter came into the office today to talk to him about breaking into the sports business.  She is a senior at USC (as in University of Southern California) and wants to be a sideline reporter, so really...she had a lot more in common with Sarah as far as career aspirations.  Those of us who want to break into sports are pretty much all in the same boat.  At least those of who choose to do something about it.  I'm sure I've mentioned this before but one of my BIGGEST pet peeves about the entire job search process was talking to my guy friends about what I wanted to do with my career, and listening to them laugh at me and say "oh yeah, I used to want to work in sports too, and then I stepped back into reality".  There are quite a few of you, and you know who you are.  It's a matter of taking initiative, calling and emailing everyone you know, getting your name out their in multiple markets, feeling like you are being borderline annoying (while managing that fine line so that you stay on the right side of the border).  It's about being slightly talented, knowing the right people, working hard, and REALLY wanting it.  So I'm glad i never stepped into the reality of my friends, and I hope that the girl that came by the office today steers clear of that reality as well.  Sarah and I talked to her about volunteering for everything she could, sticking her hands in ALL things sport (whether in television or not) and trying to learn everything she can.  That is what we are doing after all.  We also gave her each of our cards.  For the first time, even before landing a full time job, I felt like I was giving back an opportunity that had been afforded to me by all of the contacts that people helped me out with.  We encouraged her to stay in touch.  And IF she does get in touch, I am going to promise never to neglect to respond.  If she can't get in touch with Sarah or me, who CAN she get in touch with?  Anyways, talking to her brought back a lot of feelings about the terrible job search process, and made me remember both the good and the bad, the productive and unproductive meetings I had.  I hope she felt like this was a productive meeting.  Also, it reminded me that I could be doing this exact same thing, again, in a couple of months.  YIKES!