Meet one of the Youth Mentoring Collaborative's Consultants, Frank Pollock. Follow along with this interview between Frank and Hannah McKinney, Manager of Communications & Storytelling.
The Interview
Q. How did you first get involved with the Youth Mentoring Collaborative (YMC)? (HM)
A. "Atrayus recruited me." (FP)
Q. What is your 'mentor story'? (HM)
A. "Gil Fitts was an influential mentor at the beginning of my career. We met briefly when I was an undergraduate, and he hired me at WTVD a few years later. He taught me the advertising business, wrote one of my grad school recommendations, and we have remained close for thirty (30) years. He has taught me many valuable lessons about business and life." (FP)
Q. Why do you think mentoring is so important? (HM)
A. "Frank Martin, the college basketball coach, once said that young people don't know anything and it's our job to teach them. I want to ensure that there are lots of people who are willing to teach young people about life, not just the subjects in school. The "school of hard knocks" teaches painful lessons, especially when a nudge in the right direction might prove just as effective." (FP)
Q. Which of YMC's values do you feel most personally aligned with? (HM)
A. "Growth. The goal of a mentoring relationship is growth. The mentee grows because of the time and effort the mentor invests in them, and mentors also learn things from their mentees." (FP)
Q. What are you most excited about in the future of YMC? (HM)
A. "I am excited to see how many organizations and young people YMC can impact." (FP)
Q. What is your expertise as a consultant? (HM)
A. "Marketing. If I had to describe myself in three words, I would say, 'marketer - innovator - strategist.'" (FP)
Q. Share a fun story about YMC! (HM)
A. "I met Atrayus at the barber shop. From my headshot, you can see it's been quite a few years - pardon the pun. We kept running into each other and one day, we started talking. He mentioned that he was looking for a contact at NCCU's business school, and I was the director of the MBA program at that time. We have used our respective networks to help each other ever since." (FP)
Q. Share a fun fact about you! (HM)
A. "I am a second (2nd) generation Tar Heel." (FP)
This concludes the interview. To learn more about Frank and the rest of the team, visit Our Team.