24-year-old Jessica had just graduated from law school when she was first introduced to Connecting Champions and her mentor. An aspiring lawyer, Jessica used her conversations with her mentor, Larry, to prepare for a career in law.
Larry, a law professor at Columbia who also teaches in Europe, was the perfect match for Jessica.
“It became a fun thing to just sit and learn about all of his experiences,” said Jessica. “He has a wide range of knowledge when it comes to different topics.”
Initially meeting virtually, Jessica and Larry’s conversations have moved to in-person conversations over coffee in New York City. With Larry being a well-traveled lawyer with a lot of experience, he is able to take relevant events happening in the world and explain to Jessica the legal implications behind them.
“A lot of our conversations focused on political conflict and international law issues,” said Jessica. “Sometimes we would just sit there and discuss our points of view or how those issues can be resolved.”
Larry helped Jessica prepare for her career following her education, discussing all of the different factors that go into a life as a lawyer. “It was like seeing it from a working perspective rather than an educational perspective,” said Jessica on the difference between her conversations with Larry and her time in law school. “We talked about what you can actually do in this field; it was interesting to see his perspective of how everything functions together or how he thinks something should be handled.”
Now, Jessica’s mentorship with Larry has become a friendship on a more personal level. “We’ve evolved from Connecting Champions as meeting with someone in your field to just meeting and chatting about life,” said Jessica. “He’s kind of like a grandpa to me.”
