Meeting my mentor

One of our SYPs, Penelope Hill from Australia met her Mentor for the first time and told us about her experience.

"I have recently had the fantastic opportunity of meeting my mentor, Anke van Dam, in person at the Harm Reduction International Conference 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Throughout the mentor process so far, Anke has provided me with invaluable advice on furthering my career in global health in the specific field of harm reduction. With Anke’s encouragement, I registered to attend the conference in Malaysia, and could not have benefitted more from the experience – I had the chance to meet my mentor in person, chat to her about relevant issues present at the conference, and she provided me with networking opportunities to hopefully advance my career in global harm reduction. It was my absolute pleasure to meet Anke in person, something I never expected to happen so early in our mentor relationship, especially as I am based in Australia, and she in the Netherlands! Through her encouragement I attended the conference, and am now involved with new networks for youth in harm reduction, and have strengthened my skills in networking with international health professionals."