We were speaking about mentorship, yes, but beneath the surface we were really speaking about something more urgent and more human: how young people turn potential into action, and how mentorship can facilitate that transformation, especially in a world that keeps changing the goalposts.
The questions came from different sectors and lived realities: students, fresh graduates, young professionals navigating uncertainty, and people trying to build something from scratch. Yet the struggles were strikingly similar.
- How to structure learning when school gives you content but not direction.
- How to maximize potential without burning out.
- How to discover yourself beyond grades, titles, and applause.
- How to find a niche in a world where the market evolves faster than curricula.
- How to respond to the shock of the education-industry divide.
For many, the realization hits like cold water. One day you are "doing well in school," and the next day you meet a real world that is louder, faster, and less forgiving than expected. The skills demanded by the market do not always match what school rewards. Entire industries are evolving. New technologies are reshaping work. And in the middle of that turbulence, many young people have nowhere to turn for consistent answers, structure, and guidance. Not because they are lazy. Not because they lack ambition. But because they lack a system.
The narrative we are changing
Our work at MedXMentor is to change this narrative. Over the last three years, we have built a hybrid mentorship structure that leverages low-bandwidth digital learning to deliver webinars and facilitate interaction with highly resourceful field experts as mentors. Our primary focus has been undergraduate healthcare students, working across 8 African countries and 28 universities. Along the way, we have reached about 8,000 students.
We have partnered with medical student leadership, university administrators, and professional bodies because we have learned something important: structure is not a luxury. Structure is the difference between inspiration and outcomes.
When mentorship is structured, it becomes a system for skills development, identity formation, and professional growth, not a random conversation that fades after a good call. The need remains. It is present among undergraduates, and it is rising among recent graduates facing the education-industry divide. Many are technically qualified but feel unprepared. Many have certificates but no clarity. Many have potential but no pathway. So we are widening the tent.
We want to provide not only a platform, but also language, tools, and community to help young people learn how mentorship can be utilized to turn potential into action across all areas of life and work. And we believe we cannot do this alone. Collaboratively, with other youth-led organizations, institutions, and stakeholders, we can change this narrative.
The weekly conversations and the monthly podcast
Starting now, each week we will hold a conversation on our platforms around one theme. The goal is simple:
- To demystify mentorship.
- To make it accessible.
- To help young people build a mindset, a method, and a movement.
We want students, fresh graduates, and field experts to share opinions and experiences. We want to learn publicly. We want to build together. At the end of each month, we will bring the best of these conversations into a monthly podcast episode that captures the insights, stories, and practical takeaways.
This is not content for content's sake. This is a community building a compass.
Week 1: If you were a tree, what kind would you be and why?
If you are wondering whether we are here to talk about trees or mentorship, let me reassure you, we are here to talk about mentorship as a tool to turn potential into action. Sometimes the best way to speak about growth is to borrow language from nature. As you think about your tree, reflect on these four lessons.
- Regardless of the season, growth is constant. Trees never stop growing. Even when you cannot see it, something is always happening. Mentorship helps you cultivate that mindset through reflection, accountability, and deliberate practice. A good mentor does not just give answers; a good mentor helps you become the kind of person who can find answers.
- Growth occurs across seasons, and you must respect the long game. The journey from potential to action is a marathon, not a sprint. Mentorship helps you keep going when your season is quiet. It helps you interpret the shedding not as loss, but as preparation.
- Trees thrive in forests, not in isolation. You will need peers who challenge you, mentors who stretch you, and communities that provide rhythm, structure, and belonging. That is why we are building these weekly conversations, not as a lecture series, but as a forest.
- Goals matter, but systems sustain you. Mentorship helps you move from goal obsession to systems thinking: how you learn, reflect, plan, get feedback, track growth, and recover when you fall short. You do not grow only to win. You grow to contribute.
Let's build the conversation together
The goal is not to impress you with words. The goal is to build a mass of people journeying together, achieving their best potential, and serving mankind. So, I will ask again:
If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?
Share your answer in the comments. Notice what your answer reveals about your mindset, your season, your community, and your systems. This is Week 1. And we are just getting started.
