MONCTON – NBCC’s community mentorship program OASIS recently reached a significant milestone, matching its 100th pair of experienced professionals and emerging entrepreneurs.
OASIS connects small businesses facing unique challenges (mentees) with experienced entrepreneurs (mentors) to provide them with the support, resources and guidance necessary to explore their entrepreneurial goals through tactical mentorship activities. The significant social and economic impact of OASIS in helping small business grow is consistent with NBCC’s goal of transforming lives and communities.
Among those 100 success stories is Melody Munro, an alumna of NBCC who has owned and operated multiple companies including Wee College and has been a mentor to five small business owners. For Munro, participation in OASIS is an opportunity to share the success she’s enjoyed with other small business owners.
“I feel that I’ve been blessed and I want to give back, to share the journey I’ve been on so far,” said Munro. “I want to share that, together, we are better.”
Munro said she spent most of her career as a “lone wolf.” She put all her energy into building her business and didn’t take time to seek advice from anyone.
“I always felt alone,” she said. “I always wondered, am I doing this right, does anyone else experience this. I want to help others who might feel that way.”
NBCC launched the OASIS program in 2014 as a way to connect entrepreneurial recent graduates with more experienced alumni. OASIS was piloted in Miramichi, with eight mentor/mentee matches. The overwhelming success of the pilot led to NBCC offering the program in other campus communities, including Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton, and opening it up to all business owners, rather than just alumni.
This is Munro’s fifth match in OASIS. She knew from her first contact with the program that it would be a rewarding and valuable experience.
“There was something about OASIS that resonated with me, that said, ‘this is where you need to be.’ I immediately felt a sense of belonging and home,” she said. “With every mentee that has come to me, I’ve grown the experience.”
For further information about OASIS, please visit www.nbcc.ca/oasis.
With over 90 programs and six campuses across New Brunswick, NBCC is a provincially recognized post-secondary institution renowned for producing skilled, knowledgeable college graduates. NBCC offers students full-time concentrated study periods in one- and two-year certificate and diploma programs. For more information, visit: www.nbcc.ca.
