The importance of female mentorship

At Instil, our team is passionate about nonprofits and philanthropic work. In the We Are Instil series, we'll introduce you to our team members and learn more about their expertise and work in the charity sector.

Meet Instil's head of sales, Brittany Wardlow.

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5 Fast Facts about Brittany

1. She's in the working mom's club with a precious 1.5-year-old son
2. As a board member and Mentorship Chair at the GRACEDBYGRIT Foundation, she's passionate about providing strong female mentorship for high school girls
3. She loves helping nonprofits xyz
4. Fun and random
5. Fun and random

GRACEDBYGRIT's mission is to develop a new generation of female leaders through programs focused on building grit with events, coaching, mentorship, and a collegiate athletics scholarship fund. The foundation is passionate about cultivating female athletes’ environment to build sustainable leadership skills through our mentorship program.

As a board member, Brittany created a mentor program, connecting female athletes with high school girls to build sustainable leadership skills.

Brittany, how did the GRACEDBYGRIT board develop the mentorship program?

The mentorship program came up organically in one of our board meetings after reviewing scholarship applications. Initially, the discussion was around sports injuries because it was such a theme in the scholarship applications. We wanted to pair college athletes who had recovered from injuries with high school students who had setbacks in their sport due to injuries. As inspirational as that initially felt, there was something in me that knew we could dig deeper. It seemed like the perfect time to leverage my passion for mentorship and create a program that goes beyond recovering from an injury. We have such an incredible network of young women at the GRACEDBYGRIT foundation, so creating a space for them to get to know each other and support each other was a no-brainer.

How is the mentorship program facilitated?

The program is 100% remote due to both COVID-19 and the fact that girls will be paired across the nation. We want to ensure that we have a modern, easy, and scalable way to facilitate the program, so technology will play a big part. All participants will have an online profile with information about themselves, their sport, and their goals. It is vital for us to have a diverse set of both mentors and mentees to ensure all women are represented in our program. Each high school student will have two mentors; one in the fall semester and one in the spring. Hopefully, those relationships don’t end when the program ends but continues as a cadence that makes sense for the participants. I want to think the program will create deep, long-lasting friendships.

What are the long-term goals of the mentorship program?

The long-term goal is to build a community of leaders to impact the next generation of female athletes and professionals. Right now, we are pairing high school juniors and seniors with college juniors and seniors. Next year, we plan to layer on a program for college juniors and seniors to be paired with female business leaders in various fields. By adding a professional development piece to the program, we will impact young women beyond college and their sport. This will allow female athletes to leverage what they gained through athletics and transfer that to their career aspirations. At the GRACEDBYGRIT foundation, we firmly believe that the mindset female athletes develop in their sport will pay tenfold in their careers when leveraged appropriately.

What desired short and long-term outcomes do you have in mind concerning impacting the mentors' and mentees’ lives?

When I think about the program’s big picture impact, I envision a community of women who have felt the power that comes from having a supportive female leader in their life. I can see doors opening and dreams broadening for mentees because of the impact of a mentor in their life. It will be fantastic to watch mentors flex their leadership for the first time outside of their team or sport.

When interviewing mentors, something that continually came up was their desire to support a high school athlete like they wish they had been supported. There is so much a college athlete can offer a high school student, so having a structured program creates an excellent place for mentors to share their experiences and grow in leadership. They will be able to lead by example and hold their mentees accountable to goals, which are foundational qualities to any great leader.

Mentees will be able to pull from their mentor’s experience to be more prepared for college, college athletics, and ultimately have a person in their life who is there to support them outside of their immediate network. Long term, I can see these friendships lasting beyond the program. We want to build a community of female leaders that can rally together and support one another for years to come!

Connect with Brittany

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