By Giannira Giunti
At Tinkuy, learning does not always mean reaching a goal. Sometimes, some of the deepest learning happens when a Puma sits next to another and asks, “How can I help you?”
One of the experiences Pumas have in Discovery, Ascend, and Spark is learning to mentor others. Mentoring invites us to look at learning from a different perspective. We often think about the person receiving help: What did they learn? Were they able to move forward? Did they understand something new?
And there is another important question: What does the person offering support learn? Mentoring is also an opportunity to discover who we are when our knowledge, choices, and actions have an impact on someone else.
Being a mentor means asking ourselves what we do with what we know. We can use our knowledge only for our own progress, or we can choose to share it and put it in the service of someone else. That choice gives us an opportunity to explore who we are becoming.
When a Puma tries to help another, they quickly discover that knowing something is not exactly the same as knowing how to share it. Explaining requires finding the right words, listening, asking questions, and recognizing when it is time to step in and when it is better to give someone space. It also requires patience, especially when another person learns at a different pace or needs several attempts before understanding.
It reminds us that we learn through others. A Puma may discover their capacity for empathy while supporting someone who feels frustrated, develop patience when an explanation does not work, or learn to communicate in a different way. They may even discover that something they thought they understood perfectly needs to be revisited. After all, trying to guide and share knowledge is a pretty efficient way to discover how much we really know.
When we encourage Pumas to mentor, we hope to give them the chance to experience what it means to use their strengths in connection with others. To discover that what they know can be valuable to someone else, and that supporting another person does not always mean having all the answers.
As we help others grow, we grow too. And perhaps that is one of the most valuable lessons about learning in a community: we teach what we know, but mentoring also teaches us who we are becoming.