As a mentor, one thing I tell my mentees without fail is that be holistic in your approach towards personal growth. Focus on building your knowledge base, developing your soft skills and becoming a well-rounded professional. Seeing mentees imbibe this and grow, makes mentorship an experience to cherish for my lifetime.
As I reflect back on my journey, I am reminded of a beautiful quote, written by Roy T. Bennett in his book – The Light in the Heart, “Challenges and adversity are meant to help you know who you are. Storms hit your weakness, but unlock your true strength.” It resonates with my journey, as I faced several obstacles and challenges, and eventually emerged as a better and stronger human being.
I am Shakti Singh Moyal, currently working at PayPal; alongside I am also serving as a mentor to young talented learners at Scaler. Coming from an army background, my childhood was difficult. The constant travelling, shifting and uncertainty, took a toll on me. To ensure that I had access to quality education, I shifted to my grandparents’ house, and eventually, things fell into place.
As for computers, I had not even touched one till 2009. Programming and coding were strange terms for me up until I joined college. But once I encountered a computer, my life changed. My college was quite interesting. I learnt immensely, and my interactions with my teachers were quite insightful. This was much in contrast to how my peers viewed college life, as I engaged in self study, while everyone looked forward to having fun.
I stepped into the professional world right after college. I have 7 years of work experience, and it has truly been a joyride. My career started with LG, and then I widened my horizons by working with some startups. There were several crests and troughs in my journey, but I sailed through them all.
Eventually I joined PayPal, and my current profile is that of a Senior Software Developer. Work is really exciting, and challenging. Our team is working on the creation of a feature which would facilitate QR payments; this project is very close to my heart because it is one of the biggest projects I have been entrusted with. I think understanding what impact our work will have on people, because the entire world will be using these features, gives me unparalleled joy. I think this contentment and satisfaction is one of the greatest feelings in the world.
I came across Scaler via LinkedIn, after 2-3 months of its launch. I was keen to join Scaler because in college, I personally never sought any guidance from mentors. I had this problem of cocooning into my shell, and trying to solve all concerns on my own, without seeking advice or help. I think everyone should avail the knowledge spread by a mentor, and I learned it the hard way. After sitting for several interviews across my career span, I had gained a lot of knowledge and I wished to share it with others. Scaler provided me with that platform, where I could offer help to those who sought it.
As a mentor, I follow a holistic approach, with consistency and deep learning as my two primary goals. During college times, I had the notion that people who exhibited greater intelligence, would only be able to do better in life. But now, I have understood that consistency is the key.Someone with immense talent cannot attain excellence if the required amount of hard work, and dedication is lacking.
If you are working towards something, keep at it. Continue practicing, continue solving problems, keep seeking guidance; for there is a vast ocean of knowledge and learning never stops. If one is consistent and does not hesitate to put in efforts, nothing can stop them. My aim is to help my mentees understand the importance of being consistent and working hard.
I think as a mentor, you feel the happiest when your mentee achieves their goals. For most, it is their dream job, and for some, it is the learning that they get to take away from this learner-teacher bond. I will never forget how one of my mentees rejoiced and conveyed their gratitude when they got placed with their dream company. But I will never forget how another mentee who had been through a failure, and had given up, told me that my support had kept them going. These little moments make it all worth it. Mentorship is all about these beautiful epiphanies, and I am looking forward to more in the journey ahead.