The Power of a Mentor

Author: Lina Bois
Work Readiness
Published: Tuesday, 14 Mar 2017

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Original Story from Junior Achievement of Wisconsin

Our JA Business Challenge was held on February 16, 2017. Haley Gandara, one of our student team mentors, shared this story about her experience with Junior Achievement:

"I was involved with JA as a student at Memorial High School in Madison, Wisconsin. Dan Pacetti was a JA volunteer in our personal finance class and came each week to speak. He and my personal finance teacher, Mr. Thomas, were the first to point out my business skills and made me truly consider business as a career. I always had an interest in entrepreneurship, but they were the first to encourage me to consciously think about it.

When my class partner and I won the JA Titan Challenge in our classroom, we had the opportunity to compete at the same Business Challenge we are volunteering for on Thursday. I remember trying a new strategy that didn't work and then catching up at the end to win a scholarship. We went on to the Wisconsin JA Business Challenge to compete against others from across Wisconsin. Dan Pacetti became a mentor to me after that. He helped me as I looked through business programs and decided where to attend. I still appreciate that relationship to this day, and I have JA to thank for it!"

Haley is now the Director of Client Relations and Marketing at Empower Wealth Management in Madison, WI.