Inspired Leadership: Lessons Learned from Melina Kiper, My Mentor
A mentor I have met since I started working at UnidosUS is Melina Kiper, my manager. As the Education Senior Strategist, Melina is responsible for advancing UnidosUS’s state education policy agenda in California, Florida, Arizona, and Texas. From day one, Melina welcomed me with a smile, took me to a juice place near the office and told me all the information I needed to become knowledgeable on the purpose I will serve and how I can contribute to UnidosUS.
Melina is a natural leader who leads with transparency. Whenever I ask a question, if she does not know the answer she lets me know and gets back to me. This is a great leadership skill because it means she's okay with asking for help and open to receiving feedback. I personally would like to be stronger in this area, to improve professionally and socially. Another leadership skill Melina holds is how she balances her friendliness and professionalism in the workplace, this has helped in building our positive relationship. Melina creates a harmonious environment; I always feel excited to go into the office or to meet with her virtually. From the start, I have expressed to Melina how I want to continue to learn more about politics and policy. Melina sent me many articles and videos on what I needed to learn. Currently I am working on analyzing the results for the 2023-2024 school year assessments for the four states we focus on. Having worked with Melina as my manager for about four weeks now, she has inspired me and helped me grow in skills like data entry and analysis, project planning, organization in meetings, and communication. I trust that I've been as supportive to Melina as she has been to me. Particularly during the Education Summit’24 in Los Angeles, her careful guidance through my tasks convinced me to regard her as a mentor.
Fun fact, the first night in LA Melina took a few of us out to eat at TGIF and sang the birthday song for me since it had recently been my birthday. This was heartwarming for me since it was my first ever birthday away from my family. Melina is a mentor who lets me know that I can go to her for anything I may need or concerns me, which I truly feel comfortable doing. Shout out to Melina Kiper, thank you!