My Uncle Phil - The Power of Mentorship

I’ve been in the event industry my entire adult life.

The story goes, I’m 18 years old and I’m organizing a few annual events every year for the Philippine Cultural Centre Foundation. At the time, I wasn’t in it for the events, nor did I actually know that this was a profession I could make a career out of. I was just in it to hang out with my friends and plan some cool events that the youth could enjoy. We would plan events like variety shows, dance competitions, Christmas concerts, and miscellaneous cultural performances.

Now fast forward, I’m in my 20’s. I’ve completed my event management education from Bow Valley College and I’m now an Event Coordinator at the Calgary Stampede, the city’s largest convention centre. I’m taking care of all their largest clients and events – RV Expo, Wedding Fair, Bridal Expo, Home & Garden, Comic Expo, concerts, DJ events, you name it. It’s very likely I may have been behind an event that you would have attended there. And what a great gig. Where else would you get this kind of experience?

About 5 years into the job, I’m now watching my peers move onto other jobs and the next phase in their careers and I decide that it’s time for myself to move on as well. Now I’m looking for a job every week. Many months go by and while I am getting interviews, there’s nothing really out there that I’m dying to leave this job for. I figure, I’m young. I won’t leave until the next best thing comes along.

One day, after about a year and a half of searching, my biggest client calls me and asks for my resume. Who is it? Comic Expo.

Now, I have to tell you. As a young kid who absolutely loves pop culture - Marvel, Star Wars, DC, cartoons, and a bunch of different fandoms, this is an absolute dream. He calls me up and asks for my resume, which of course I immediately send over. At the time, I had no idea that this man, let’s call him Jason S., would come to be the greatest mentor I’ve ever known and one of my closest friends.

I get the job.

I’m now the Senior Operations Manager, flying around north America doing comic cons, staying in hotels, eating out, getting pictures with celebrities. This was definitely the peak glam job but the amount of skills that I learned in the 2 short years that I worked there is immeasurable. The level of detail it took to make sure that every designated body onsite that I had arranged for was setup for success so that they understood their part in making the show a success. The responsibility of the safety of tens of thousands of people across multiple buildings and days. The operational documents that outlined to-the-minute scheduling, requirements, accountability, signage, distribution, communicating all that information to all partners, and the interdependencies of how it all came together was mind boggling. The applications of logistical planning for these mass scale events would later become the foundation of how I did everything moving forward. There was so much to learn, and Jason S. was always there to guide me through how to do things, best practices, sharing insights, and always had time to look over my work, make helpful suggestions, and give me advice.

What I admired the most?

Jason S. founded this organization and built it from scratch from the bottom up. When I was working there, we were probably on the 14th annual show or so. This dude is a humble guy. He is the type of guy where if we were in a room filled with the most important people, he never felt the need to prove anything. Sometimes, when important people are sitting in a room together, there always seems to be this power struggling between egos because they’ve been doing this for so long, or they want to show how smart they are, or what a big deal they are, but he was never like that. He treated everyone the same, whether they were a VP or a janitor. He listened, cared, and empathized with anyone no matter who you were. He was right there working with me in a dirty warehouse, doing the grunt work of loading and unloading semi-trucks. Very humble to see someone at the top who had the values of humble beginnings.  

When the time came for me to move onto the next big thing in my career, we remained friends and I’ve always considered him a mentor. No matter where I was in my career, I always ran ideas by him, and he was always happy to oblige.  

How people around you shape your future.

Nobody does anything alone. I’m not sure I actually believed this until the last few years but whether it is directly or indirectly, there is always someone there to help us out. In one way or another, someone is there to offer guidance, challenge you, or maybe they see more potential in you than you see in yourself. They help development your judgement and perspective, and what a valuable gift to help learn these lessons sooner than you would if you had to figure them out on your own.

You should be very intentional about the people you keep in your circle. These people influence your habits, your mindset, and your standards. Spend more time around those who are honest, ethical, hardworking, and supportive. Those relationships will bring out the best in you. Be humble and learn.

Ever watch The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?

Jason S. and I both loved this show. If you don’t know what The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is. It’s about a ghetto, immature teenager from the hood in Philadelphia named Will Smith who moves out to L.A. to live with his rich Aunt and Uncle. Throughout the show you can see Will start to transform from an immature teen and by the end of it, he becomes a good and decent man.

Jason S. is my Uncle Phil. Like Will Smith, I grew up poor and in what many would consider to be a bad neighborhood. I was immature, irresponsible, couldn’t seem to get my priorities straight and I always felt like I got a late start to my professional career. In that sense, I always felt like I was trying to catch up to the man I was supposed to be.

When I was in college, I remember thinking that the most I would ever do in my career is become an Event Manager but thanks to this man, I have surpassed that title many times and accomplished great things I never thought I would achieve. The amount of opportunities this man has given me and continues to give me is endless, and I will always be grateful to continue to listen, learn, and grow.

There’s an episode in The Fresh Prince where Will Smith tells his Uncle Phil that he had felt his whole life he was skating with only one skate trying to keep up with all the other kids who had two skates. And he says, “Thank you for my other skate.”. So, Jason S., if you ever read this…

Thank you for my other skate.

Because some of the best things in my life and things to come wouldn’t be possible without you. You inspire me to dream bigger, and I hope you know that you changed my life. I never dreamed I’d be able to work with someone as great as you.