Natalie's Blog: The next generation

“Looking back at my last blog it struck me that I was maybe a bit frustrated when I wrote it, perhaps I was having a bad day? Of course  it might just have been that the torrential unrelenting rain we were having at the time was playing with my usual positive outlook? I'm sure I'm not alone in relishing the first sights of spring, the daffodils poking through, blue skies with bright low sun and lambs in the fields. On the train the morning looking at the sights of spring I found myself thinking about new life etc and just as I was doing so I received an email from an LPC student I am currently mentoring through the College of Law mentoring programme. I thought the timing of her email was spot on given she is in many ways 'new life'. The next generation of Citymothers! She was writing to thank me for taking the time to respond to her email of last week in which she asked me for tips on attending a law fair. I gave her some practical advice of do's and don'ts. The email took me no less than 5 minutes to write but clearly the assistance it had given her was far greater than the time it had taken me to compose. 

It set me thinking about all the young ambitious women that will be following on in our footsteps and the routes we tread. We must be careful to leave footprints that make their journeys a little easier. We should, all of us, lend a hand to the younger women behind us, impart on them lessons we have learned as well as tips we've picked up along the way and of course continue to learn.  After all it's not like we don't get anything from giving back, I felt extremely pleased with myself for making the time to have made a difference to this young woman. Mentoring is a great way to learn and both the mentee and mentor get something positive out of it. I'm yet to find my mentor but I continue to look! If any of you reading this have been thinking about becoming a mentor or asked to join your company mentoring programme I urge you to do it. Yes, it is an extra commitment and something else to work into your busy lifestyles but it is rewarding and the more of us that do it, the more we can continue passing on Rosie the Riveter's mantra 'We Can Do It' to the young professional women behind us.”

Natalie is team manager at a law firm; she has been a lawyer for 10 years and is a mother to two girls aged 8 and 2. Passionate about both and enjoying the juggle that doing both brings.