Thirteen years ago Nephertiti Schandorf, then a 14 year old student at Haggerston School, joined the Hackney Schools’ Mentoring Programme as a mentee and was matched with mentor Louise Cox from UBS. Thirteen years on the two are still in close contact and both recognise the impact and influence mentoring, and their continuing supportive relationship, has had on her lives so far.

Since leaving school Nephertiti has been working at the Islington Law Centre, a social justice charity that offers free legal advice and representation, most recently as the centre’s LawWorks and Volunteer Coordinator, a role she has thoroughly enjoyed. However, as of Autumn 2010 Nephertiti is moving on to realise her true passion in life – photography. Now aged 27, Nephertiti has spent the last four years studying and getting back into education. She has completed a foundation course at renowned London Art college, Central St Martins and has successfully secured a place on a Photography degree at the Manchester School of Art which she will begin in September 2010. Nephertiti reflects that she has always loved photos but that it’s Louise’s support, amongst others, that has given her the push she needed to fully pursue it as a career. Nephertiti describes how “Louise always believed in me”. But Louise insists that Nephertiti’s talent has always stood out and that it has simply been her role to nurture the talent of a clearly “outstanding individual”.

Nephertiti explains how Louise has always been there to support and offer up opportunities. “My after school mentoring sessions helped with everything from coursework and revision to being rewarded for my commitment by being taken to a restaurant to eat lobster for the first time. Something I never thought I’d get to eat again”. Louise also went out of her way to get Nephertiti a personal tutor in French by enlisting a French colleague to join them for mentoring sessions. Nephertiti recognises that only because Louise did this, was she able to pass her GCSE French, a subject she’d struggled in, with a strong grade B.

Nephertiti describes their relationship as an instant rapport “we just clicked and liked each other straight away”. And now, both as adults, the two continue to play a large part in each others lives, staying at each others houses, speaking on the phone regularly and catching up for dinner or drinks whenever they can. Nephertiti even happily plays resident photographer at Louise’s daughter’s birthday parties.

Nephertiti explains what Louise has done for her and how she has changed. “Louise opened up her home to me, she took me in and saw the potential in me. I was a typical young girl, being gobby at the back of the bus, but through mentoring my attitude has changed. Mentoring gives you the confidence and empowerment to make good decisions. I could have gone down lots of other paths, but with Louise’s support I have chosen the right paths.”

Furthermore Nephertiti credits her mentoring experiences as changing her values and giving her a strong belief in CSR. Through her role at the Islington Law Centre, Nephertiti has managed volunteering first hand and she has also been involved with the East London Business Alliance, the Hackney Schools’ Mentoring Programme’s parent organisation, by volunteering to run photography projects with young people in East London. Now she’s heading north, Nephertiti is using her London volunteering contacts to organise involvement with Manchester based projects so that she can continue to mentor young people and share her arts skills whilst she studies for her degree.

Since Louise met Nephertiti her life has also changed. She has left the corporate world behind and now runs a retreat in Kent. As a Buddhist Louise has a particular interest in looking after her community, something both her new business and mentoring are very much about. Louise describes how mentoring very much fits in with the key Buddhist concept of “creating value”.

The two are clear that mentoring is a two-way process and that they have both grown and benefitted as a result of their relationship. Indeed Nephertiti’s message to new mentees and mentors is as such “Mentors you will show children a world they have never seen before and open up their lives. And mentees - your mentors are not a person on a pedestal, you have a lot to give them and they will learn a lot from you”.

Louise urges anyone who has the opportunity to get involved in mentoring to do so “Mentoring enables you to access something that you can’t access in any other way and if you get the opportunity to mentor, or be mentored, grab it with both hands.”

Nephertiti’s message about the value of meeting new and different people is clear “Living in London, people are fairly separate. Mentoring is about getting to know your neighbours - if you only ever know people just like you, then you don’t really know people, you’re just staying in your comfort zone. Mentoring is essential for everyone.”