Remarks by Chargé d’Affaires Rafik Mansour, U.S. Embassy Alumni Mentoring Program
Good morning, everyone, and congratulations on this very significant day, the launch of this year’s U.S. Embassy-ITE Alumni Mentoring Program. Today, you begin a journey of personal growth and community building that will last not only for the six months of this program, but well into the future. I commend you for making that commitment and for the many well-earned achievements – both as mentors and mentees – that led you to joining the U.S. Embassy’s growing mentoring family.
To make this all possible, I would like to thank the Institute of Technical Education for making this valuable partnership a reality. I would also like to thank Wendy, Albert, and their team at Wand Inspiration Network for their unrivaled creativity, energy, and expertise in facilitating this program. I would also like to thank our alumni mentors, many of whom have returned year after year to selflessly devote their time to sharing their insights and experiences with the many future leaders here today.
Whether you are here today as a mentor, mentee, as a facilitator or partner, your engagement demonstrates that learning and personal development are critical elements of your core values as you shape your life path. Our mentors, who are all alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs, have demonstrated those values long after their return from their time in the United States. Our alumni continue to make us very proud through their incredible academic and professional achievements, but even more so through their unwavering commitment to their communities and willingness to give back to future generations, as you are today.
I am confident that the mentees participating in this program will go on to become leaders in their communities and in their professions. Committing yourselves to personal betterment through mentorship is an important step in achieving lifelong success. I have seen the power of mentorship in my own life and career, and I encourage you to take advantage of every opportunity you have to learn from those who have come before you.
Today’s launch brings us into our ninth year of this unique program. Your addition to the mentoring program family brings us to more than 630 participants since the program’s inception in 2013. I am so impressed by the number of mentors and mentees who have undertaken this journey, the many impressive American companies who have consistently supported the program, and the tireless energy our partners put in year after year to support young people in Singapore, all in the name of achieving a better future for us all.
Just this month, the U.S. Embassy launched a year-long celebration of the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Singapore. Over those 55 years, our two countries have grown together to become more secure and more prosperous, and that success has only been possible because of our greatest resource: our people. By joining this program today, you are now officially a part of this vibrant partnership between our two countries.
I wish you all the very best as you undertake this exciting journey. I look forward to seeing the incredible things you will achieve in the coming months and in your many years of success to come. Thank you.