What I Learned After Mentoring 100+ Students and Getting Featured on Times Square

There are moments in life that don’t feel real until much later.

For me, one of those moments was watching my face light up on Times Square — not for building a unicorn, not for raising millions, but for mentoring students.

It hit different because it wasn’t a solo achievement. It was a collective one.

A reflection of more than a hundred students who trusted me with their dreams, their fear of coding, their exam anxiety, their first attempt at DSA, their first taste of confidence.

Mentoring started as a side thing.

Something I did after work, after college, whenever someone reached out.

Somewhere along the way, it became a mission.

And here’s everything I learned on this journey.

1. Students don’t need a genius. They need someone who doesn’t give up on them.

Most students assume they’re “not smart enough.”

It’s rarely true. They’re just misunderstood.

Half the battle is solved the moment they hear:

“You’re not the problem. Your approach is.”

That one sentence flips something inside them.

2. Teaching is less about knowledge and more about translation

You can master system design, algebra, neural networks.

But can you explain recursion to a scared beginner?

Can you break down DP like it’s a story?

Great teaching is translation.

Converting complexity into clarity without losing meaning.

That changed everything for me.

3. Students copy your energy, not your words

If I show up tired, they mirror it.

If I show up fired up, they go beast mode.

Energy is the hidden curriculum.

Students remember how you made them feel long before they remember the techniques.

4. Consistency beats talent — always

I’ve mentored toppers and students who barely passed.

In the long run, the consistent ones win.

They sit with problems longer.

They return even after bad days.

They grow slowly… then suddenly.

Talent is hype. Discipline is truth.

5. Mentoring is belief transfer

Students often walk in saying things like:

“I can’t crack DSA.”

“I’m not confident.”

“I’ll never get into a big company.”

Mentoring is breaking those beliefs, piece by piece, and handing back courage in small, edible chunks.

They borrow your belief until they build their own.

6. Impact doesn’t always show up in metrics

Not every student sends an update.

Not every message says “thank you.”

But once in a while, you get a text months later:

“Sir, I did it.”

“Sir, I got the internship.”

“Sir, I’m finally confident.”

Those messages hit harder than any milestone.

Even the Times Square moment felt like a reflection of them, not me.

7. Small actions matter more than big speeches

Consistent check-ins.

Recording explanations for one confused student.

Showing up on time even when tired.

Putting extra effort when no one is watching.

These boring little actions stack into trust.

Trust is the real currency of mentorship.

8. Mentoring changed me more than I changed anyone

It taught me patience.

It taught me to communicate clearly.

It taught me that everyone is fighting a battle nobody else sees.

It made me sharper as an engineer and calmer as a human.

9. The Times Square billboard wasn’t a peak — it was a checkpoint

A signal that impact compounds.

A reminder that giving > achieving.

A push to keep scaling this mission.

If mentoring 100+ students changed my perspective this much, I can only imagine what the next thousand will teach me.

Conclusion: Mentoring isn’t a hobby. It’s a responsibility.

Every student has a story.

Every story needs someone who listens.

That’s how mentors are made — quietly, organically, accidentally.

I didn’t start mentoring for recognition.

I did it because I know how confusing and lonely it feels when you’re trying to build your future with no guidance.

If I can be the person I needed at 17,

then that’s the real win — billboard or not.

And this path is just getting started.