Why I Mentor: Brittany Waldman
This Is Why I Mentor Series
A series to share, educate, and inspire others with mentoring stories.
We have all had one in our lives…. Someone we look up to. Someone we call when we have questions, concerns, and frustrations. Someone who provides sound and nurturing wisdom. Someone we can expose our true selves to and still feel supported. Someone we can hunt with. Someone we can fish with. Someone we can spend time with. A mentor.
This series is meant to be a way to educate and motivate you to give back to others. It is designed to inspire you to become a mentor. It is a reminder to thank your mentor. Hopefully the advice and stories shared here will leave you nothing short of empowered!
Mentor: Brittany Waldman
OCCUPATION:
Director of Field Operations- Pass It On- Outdoor Mentors
HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN MENTORING?
I have been mentoring with the Pass It On- Outdoor Mentors Program since 2015.
WHAT DOES MENTORING MEAN TO YOU?
Mentoring to me means sharing the gifts, experiences, a listening ear, and passions we have for life with others. Mentoring can be sharing your love for the outdoors with someone. Mentoring can be sharing your educational experiences with someone. Mentoring be sharing undivided time with someone.
WHO WAS/IS YOUR MENTOR?
I feel like I have been blessed with numerous mentors in my life. Mentors throughout sports, faith, in my professional career, but I think my favorite mentor(s) are the youth that I get the opportunity to spend time with. Believe it or not, these youth mentor me just as much as I mentor them! All of the youth throughout and at the bottom of this page have mentored me beyond words.
WHY DO YOU MENTOR?
Mentoring to me is the key to happiness. Selfishly, mentoring is the way I energize and “fill my cup up” with love, joy, and zest for life. More importantly, mentoring is how I feel called to serve others. I believe God has blessed me time and time again with the ability and opportunity to serve others and there is not better way I can do that then through mentoring the youth and young adults in my community.
HOW CAN SOMEONE ELSE MENTOR?
The unique and transparent thing about mentoring is that there is not one defined way to do it. Anyone can mentor, if they choose to do so. There are hundreds of thousands of organizations in this world that associate themselves with mentoring. Like Pass It On- Outdoor Mentors, all it takes is a phone call to express interest and make the commitment. The best way someone can mentor is by taking the time to understand a programs mission and the importance of their help.
WHAT IS YOUR ONE PIECE OF ADVICE TO SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO BECOME A MENTOR?
As a mentor, I challenge you to take your unbridled passion for the outdoors and inspire someone else. I challenge you to be selfless with your time outdoors. I challenge you to take your time and give it to someone else. I challenge you to pour into others and watch them become more of who they already are. I promise that you will not only change someones life, but your life will be altered as well. It wont always be easy, convenient, and you may not harvest, but I can promise you that when you have a youth ask you “when can we go again”, nothing else will matter….and to me, that is what it is all about.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MENTORING MOMENT?
Of course, all of them! However, Cantanilla and I were able to take part in a very unique opportunity with Savage Arms and Powderhook as part of their Accufit Campaign. Nia is a breath of fresh air. Quiet, cautious, hilarious, and driven is how I would best describe her. She is an incredibly deserving youth. She makes me excited to hunt. I am speaking for multiple people here, but I know she touched each and everyone of us in ways we never would have expected on this hunt. In fact, I don’t have enough space on this page to share how wonderful this moment was so you can check it out here: https://www.outdoormentors.org/2019-youth-deer-season or watch the video.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AS A MENTOR AND TRYING TO SHARE YOUR PASSION FOR HUNTING?
I think we are all very quick to talk about the barriers and challenges we face in the outdoor world. We don’t have enough access to land, we don’t have the right equipment, we don’t have enough time, we are worried about any inconveniences the experience might bring along the way. I think the barriers and challenges are my favorite part. I think youth have soul’s like sponges and they are continuously soaking up their time with us. I believe that if we can speak candidly about the difficulties in mentoring with our youth, they become that much more aware of the unique and precious experience they are part of. In fact, I have multiple experiences where this has been proven to be true. Everyday we all get to rise with the sun and make one of two decisions. 1. Who am I going to mentor today? or 2. Am I too busy to give back to others. So for me, the biggest challenge I face as a mentor is that I can’t seem to mentor enough!
