Mentoring programme shapes career success

“It’s not about telling the mentees what to do. It’s about helping them to discover themselves, explore their values, plan their moves, and acquire the tools they need to take them where they want to go.”

The programme, which is offered in the Business School and the Law School, matches the students with successful professionals who are well placed to help with their transition into the workplace. Brianna Verspeek, a BCom/BSc student with a strong interest in digital futures, was, in 2025, Co-President of the Auckland University Commerce Students’ Association and also a mentee in WMP, which, she says, opened up exciting possibilities  and helped her place her values at the centre of her life.

“My mentor, Monique Forbes, was absolutely fantastic,” says Brianna. “She put a magnifying glass over my life and gave me feedback, from a place of love, to help me do better.” 

Brianna has always been a ‘yes’ person, open to ideas and up for new challenges: “Monique said that was great, that saying ‘yes’ meant moving forward.” 

However, she also cautioned that some “finetuning” was needed to ensure Brianna’s decisions were aligned with her goals. 

What made this match ideal is their shared commitment to advancing Māori. Brianna is part of an organisation with just that purpose: to uplift Māori skills and opportunities in technology – and Monique took an interest in that. 

“Tech Taniwha is unique,” says Brianna. “It’s very much my passion project. It’s a place where people meet and learn from each other. If I’m not on campus, that’s where I am.” 

Tech Taniwha people are taking many paths. One is making a video about what being Māori might look like in the future. Others are seeking ways of protecting indigenous arts or guarding secret knowledge in the context of AI, “which is powerful”, says Brianna, “but can be invasive of things that are tabu”. 

The absolute key to what WMP has given her is “the idea of shaping my future to accord with what I care deeply about: diversity and inclusion”. 

Brianna and Monique were both delighted at her success in winning a place, for the first semester of 2026, as an exchange student at the University of Stony Brook in New York.

Meantime, Paige Wilkinson, who is Global Marketing Strategy mand Transformation Manager at Fonterra, thinks back to her own time as a mentee in 2015, which helped her with the “big question” of “What can I do with my life?” 

In her final year of a Commerce degree in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, she felt she had the fundamental knowledge she needed but the mentoring programme “helped translate it into the real world”.

While Paige’s mentees have all been very different, their common trait mirrored what she had experienced.

“They were seeking to learn about the real world and what it means to start a career. What I tried to do is come and meet them where they’re at – exactly what my mentor did for me in 2015.”

“I pose different scenarios, to uncover and understand the root of their perspective. What are they worried about? What are they actually wanting? What do they need to be clear about?”

“I often describe student life as a sprint and professional life as a marathon. That mentality shift can be a lot for young people stepping into their first job – mentors support students through this transition into their careers, and guide them from a place of experience.”

She also works on practicalities, such as conducting CV workshops or modelling job interviews. 

“I’m happy to do that more tangible stuff, but I usually don’t go there first.”

Paige was always keen to come back as a mentor to a programme she sees as “incredibly successful”.

“The students gain a good education from the University, with the theory, the knowledge and skills they need. But WMP brings them face to face with a tangible reality and shifts their perspectives in ways that help create well-rounded people.” 

The programme’s other great power is in building connections, and Paige urges her mentees to take full advantage of that. She advises them to attend all events and engage with the students and visitors, and puts them in touch with her own contacts with whom they have common interests. 

“This programme expands the orbit of everyone in it,” she says. “To quantify its impact is impossible – its ripple effects are vast and exponential.” 

The Women’s Mentoring Programme in Law and Business is made possible through the generosity of its donor, Cecilia Tarrant, the University’s Chancellor, who actively participates in the programme, helping identify potential mentors and guest speakers, assisting with matching mentors with mentees, and planning and hosting events.