A Warm Welcome to the Foundations Mentorship Journey
Dear Friend,
Welcome to the first step of your mentorship journey. This session is designed to help you pause,
reflect, and connect what you know about the world around you with the world within you. Before
we build anything lasting, we must first understand the ground we’re standing on, that’s what this
reflection is about.
This first session is completely free. It’s a chance to experience what mentorship with me feels
like: a space of clarity, self-discovery, and gentle guidance. You don’t need to be an engineer to
understand the language of soil, just a learner who’s open to finding meaning beneath the surface.
Purpose of the Session
This session invites you to reflect on who you are, what drives you, and how your personal journey
relates to the principles of soil and foundation, flexibility, strength, patience, and growth. It helps
you recognize where you are, so we can later build toward where you want to be.
How to Complete This Session
- Read the assignment brief: ‘Understanding Myself through the Lens of Soil Mechanics.’
- Review the handout ‘Soil Concepts for Self-Discovery’ to understand each soil term as a life
metaphor. - Use the Reflection Worksheet to organize your thoughts before writing your essay.
- Write a ~1000-word reflection essay following the guiding prompts.
- Upload your completed essay via the website form as your ‘Request to Continue.’
Why This Reflection Matters
This exercise is more than an assignment, it’s an excavation. As you dig through your thoughts and
experiences, you’ll uncover the layers that define your identity, passions, and purpose. Whether
you continue the mentorship or not, this process will leave you with a clearer vision of who you
are and where you’re going.
A Message from Damilola
Every strong foundation begins with reflection. My role is not to tell you who to be, but to ask
questions that guide you to discover who you already are and who you’re becoming. Through this
journey, I hope you’ll not only understand your path but also strengthen your ability to stand firm
in it.