This week it was the turn of positive vision storyteller, Ashwin Chacko for a quick chat. Ashwin uses the medium of illustration and design to communicate stories. He speaks to us about his experience as a Mentor from his immensely creative and fun home studio. 

Why do you think creative skills are important at second level?

I think as the world is shifting and changing it’s really essential that students learn to be creative because creativity teaches us problem solving and teaches us how to pivot when we encounter walls and if we learn this at an early age it will just help us establish ourselves as we grow up.

What is Mentoring?

Mentoring is being able to provide advice and share your life experiences with people who are further back in their journey and it’s a space where they can learn and grow from that experience.

Can you take us through the process of The B!G Idea Mentoring?

I was given the ideas that the mentees came up with and I sat down and I asked questions that would help them think deeper about the potential of their idea.

What was the most important part of Mentoring for you?

It’s being able to share the experiences and then seeing that effect the idea and then develop that a little bit further. So it’s always great to see growth.

What was your biggest take away from Mentoring?

The wonderful thing about mentoring is it’s a two-way relationship and you get to share your experiences with mentees and mentees share theirs with you. It’s through that process, though you are giving, you also receive. You learn so much from their perspective, you get a new perspective on the world because you see things differently. This can then open you up for new ideas and just the fact that you are actually helping somebody grow is always exciting.

Would you have benefitted from The B!G Idea when you were in school?

Yes 100%. It’s always great to have real-life professional people giving you advice on how you approach projects. I think you learn so much more on the job than you know the theory of it and so that really helps you set up how you will approach things in the future.

Would you recommend Mentoring to others?

Yes, like I said it’s a wonderful thing where you give so much but you also receive because you learn from the students that you mentor. 

Are you interested in becoming a B!G Mentor?

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