Mentoring Young Adults to Cope with Life Challenges

Kevin Lilly was the senior vice president of sales at MiMedx, a biopharmaceutical company located in Marietta, Georgia. With over 30 years of healthcare experience, he also served as the senior vice president, marketing, and product management at Standard Register Healthcare. Besides his professional life, Kevin Lilly mentors young adults to help them cope with life's challenges.

Young people growing up often face anxiety and depression over societal pressures, among others. Transitioning from childhood to adulthood brings about an increasing number of responsibilities and forces youth to make the right life choices. Through mentoring, young people can become better equipped to deal with the future.

Mentoring is a process that allows young adults to understand that there is someone else besides their family who cares about them and is there to help them, making them feel like they genuinely matter.

Studies have shown that quality mentorship positively impacts young people in their academic, personal, and professional lives. Therefore, a mentoring relationship helps connect a young adult to personal growth and development while advancing economic and social opportunities.

The benefits of mentorship are enormous. Mentors help young adults manage and interpret everyday difficulties, such as relationships with their parents and peers. They also help their protege or mentee expand their career interests while encouraging steps for goal achievement.

Through engaging in meaningful and quality conversations, mentors boost their protege's cognitive skills and foster self-efficacy (a belief in oneself).