Mentor Moment: Gloria’s Approach is Different by Design

For years, Gloria Mubita has encouraged girls to build confidence, speak up, and stand up for themselves. She believes in the power of finding your voice. But sometimes, being a mentor means recognizing that the person sitting in front of you needs something different.

Recently, a young girl in Gloria’s new Junior Club approached her after a session. 

“Auntie Gloria, I’m overconfident, and people are bullying me because of it.”

For Gloria, the words landed with unexpected weight.

She had spent years encouraging girls to believe in themselves and speak with confidence. Yet here was a girl who was struggling not because she lacked confidence, but because she was trying to understand what confidence meant for her, and how to find her place among the people around her.

“It made me realize that mentorship is not only about teaching girls to be confident. It is also about helping them understand themselves and find a healthy balance.”

It was a reminder that no two young people arrive at a mentorship club carrying the same hopes, fears, questions, or experiences. Some may need the courage to speak. Others may need someone to help them slow down and listen to themselves. Some need encouragement. Some need boundaries. Some need reassurance that what they are feeling is okay. And sometimes, what a young person needs most is simply to know that someone sees them.

“Mentorship has taught me that every young person is different.”

Seeing the Person, not the Expectation

A mentor does not simply deliver lessons or offer advice. They build a relationship. They pay attention. They learn who a young person is, what makes them curious, what worries them, where they feel strong, and where they may still be finding their footing.

Gloria has learned to begin with a question: “What does this particular young person need to grow?”

It is a deceptively simple question. But asking it requires something profound: the willingness to see the person in front of you rather than the person you expect her to become.

For a girl growing up, that kind of attention can matter deeply.

To be noticed is to know that you matter.

To be listened to is to know that your thoughts have value.

To have someone take your questions seriously is to begin taking yourself seriously.

And when a trusted mentor creates that kind of space, a young person has room to discover who she is, rather than simply being told who she should be.

The Power of Presence

Being there for a young person does not mean having every answer.

“Sometimes you want to do everything for them, but you can't,” shares Gloria. That, too, is part of the work.

A mentor cannot solve every problem or protect a young person from every difficult experience. But she can listen without judgment. She can offer perspective. She can help a girl recognize what she is feeling and think about what she might do next. And sometimes, she can simply stay present.

“Being a mentor is not about having all the answers; sometimes it is simply about being there.”

There is power in that kind of presence. Because when a young person knows there is someone she can turn to, someone who will hear her without dismissing her, she does not have to navigate every uncertainty alone. That relationship can become a place to return to as she grows, changes, makes mistakes, finds her voice, and discovers her own way forward.

From Confidence to Agency

Gloria still believes deeply in confidence. But her understanding of what she hopes to cultivate has grown.

She wants the girls in her club to know their own worth. To recognize what they need. To care for themselves as they learn to care for others. To understand that their emotional and mental well-being matters.

“I want them to learn to take care of themselves, practice self-care, and never forget themselves while caring for others. I want them to understand that their mental and emotional well-being matters too.”

Ultimately, this is about something deeper than confidence.

It is about agency.

It is about a young person beginning to understand that her life belongs to her. That her feelings matter. That her voice matters. That she can ask questions, make choices, set boundaries, seek help, and imagine a future that reflects who she wants to become.

“If there is one thing I hope they remember from their time with us, it is this: you matter, your voice matters, and you should never neglect yourself.”

For a young girl, hearing those words from someone who knows her, listens to her, and believes in her can become something more than words. They can become part of the way she sees herself.

And that is the deeper promise of mentorship: not to tell a young person who she should be, but to walk beside her as she discovers it for herself.