Why did you decide to become a mentor?
Before I became someone people came to for guidance, I was the one reaching out and asking questions. Coming from an Electronics Engineering background and finding my way into software engineering, I had plenty of questions about where to begin and where this journey could take me. I spoke with people from different backgrounds, learned from their experiences, and even enrolled myself as a mentee. I was fortunate to have some wonderful guides who genuinely wanted to see me succeed. Looking back, those conversations shaped not only my career, but also my desire to do the same for someone else.
I’ve always found a special kind of happiness in seeing someone I’ve taught or guided succeed. As a music teacher, seeing the joy on a student’s face after achieving something they worked hard for gives me a deep sense of fulfillment. I realized mentoring gives me that same feeling—whether someone understands a difficult concept, grows more confident, performs well in an interview, or simply gets one step closer to their goal. Knowing that I could play even a small part in someone’s progress is incredibly rewarding.
Having been on both sides—as a mentee and now as a mentor—has shaped the way I approach mentoring today. I remember what it feels like to have questions, seek direction, and sometimes not even know what the right question is to ask. That experience helps me understand where a mentee currently stands, listen to what they are really looking for, and guide them forward from there. At the same time, mentoring keeps me learning too. Every person brings different experiences, perspectives, and questions that often make me think in a new way. It has helped me become a better listener, communicator, and leader while building meaningful connections along the way. For me, mentoring is not just about sharing what I know—it’s about understanding people, learning from each other, and growing together.
How did you get your career start?
My career in software engineering started with a decision I was very excited to make. Coming from an Electronics Engineering background, I spent a lot of my college years exploring programming, problem-solving, and figuring out where I wanted to take my career. By my final year, I was fortunate to receive offers from five different companies through campus placements. Among them was BNY Mellon, a company I had really hoped to work for, so choosing it as the place to begin my career felt incredibly special.
Starting at BNY Mellon was where software engineering became much more than what I had learned or practiced in college. I was suddenly learning how real applications are built, how engineers collaborate, how large codebases and systems work, and how much there is to learn beyond simply writing code. I was fortunate to work with people who gave me the space to ask questions, learn, and gradually take on more responsibility. Over the years, that curiosity has stayed with me and has taken me through different technologies, challenges, and opportunities, eventually leading me to my current role as a Senior Software Engineer at Mastercard. Looking back, my career start taught me something I still carry with me today: you don’t need to know everything before you begin—you need the curiosity to keep learning once you do.
What do mentees usually come to you for?
Most mentees come to me looking for clarity—either they’re trying to break into software engineering, prepare for their next role, or they’ve already started their career but aren’t sure what they should focus on next. One thing I hear increasingly from early-career engineers is how quickly expectations are changing with AI. Tools like GitHub Copilot and Claude can help developers move faster, but moving faster doesn’t always mean understanding better. I often work with mentees who want to strengthen the fundamentals behind the code they’re writing, become better problem-solvers, prepare for technical interviews, or simply understand what skills they should be building in a world where AI is becoming part of everyday development.
I like to begin mentorship with questions before I start giving answers. I use a short questionnaire to understand a mentee’s current skills, goals, expectations, and a few other things that help me understand where they currently stand. From there, I structure our sessions around what they actually need, keeping their expectations, commitments, and goals in mind. I don’t expect mentees to know everything; I do expect curiosity, consistency, and a willingness to ask questions—even the ones they think are too basic or irrelevant to ask. Having been a mentee myself, I try to create the kind of space I valued the most: one where you can ask freely, understand the “why” behind what you’re learning, and steadily turn that understanding into confidence.
What's been your favourite mentorship success story so far?
One of my favorite mentorship success stories isn’t about a particular company or job offer—it’s about watching someone grow from the very beginning. This mentee started with the fundamentals of data structures and algorithms, and what stood out to me was their consistency. We worked through problems by recognizing patterns, understanding why an approach works, and then taking it one step further: What if the problem changes slightly? What if a constraint changes? Would the same approach still work? Over time, I could see them move from looking for the solution to actually developing the thought process needed to arrive at one.
The most rewarding part was being able to see that progress session after session. Through regular practice, weekly discussions, mock interviews, follow-up questions, and continuous feedback, I could clearly see them applying feedback from one session in the next. Things they initially struggled to explain became easier, their approach became more structured, and they started asking better questions themselves. It reminded me that mentorship works best when there is effort from both sides—the mentor can provide direction and feedback, but the mentee’s consistency and willingness to act on that feedback are what really turn guidance into growth. Watching that transformation happen in real time is one of my favorite parts of being a mentor.
What are you getting out of being a mentor?
MentorCruise has given me an opportunity not only to make a small impact on someone else’s career, but also to grow in ways I didn’t expect when I first started mentoring. As a Senior Software Engineer, mentoring has made me more thoughtful about how I communicate technical ideas. When mentees ask questions around system design, problem-solving, or real-world engineering, I often find myself connecting those discussions with systems and challenges I work with in my own role. Sometimes their questions make me look at a familiar problem from a completely different angle. Teaching also pushes me to go beyond simply knowing how something works—I need to understand it well enough to explain why it works, and that has strengthened my own technical thinking and confidence.
More importantly, mentoring has strengthened many of the skills that become increasingly important as you grow as an engineer. It has taught me to listen more carefully, explain complex ideas in simpler ways, be patient with different learning styles, adapt my communication to different personalities, and give feedback that is both honest and constructive. Managing mentorship alongside my professional and personal commitments has also made me more intentional with my time and planning. Over time, these experiences have strengthened my active listening, communication, patience, adaptability, time management, ability to give constructive feedback, and leadership skills—qualities that directly influence how I collaborate, support others, and take ownership in my everyday work. I’m grateful that MentorCruise has created a space where I can contribute to someone else’s growth while continuously learning and becoming a better engineer, mentor, and person myself.
