You Never Know Until You Try: Marine Baedor's Mentorship Match

"Do it! Sign up and see where it takes you. You never know how impactful the experience and connections can be until you try."

Marine Baedor is the Organic Acquisition Analyst at Mohegan Digital in Connecticut, running organic social for CT, PA, and Ontario. Her work spans community management, content strategy, and analytics - a mix of creative and data-driven work that lets her have fun while promoting online casinos.

In January 2026, as part of a New Year's resolution to develop her professional career further, she joined the Global Gaming Women mentorship program as a mentee.

Looking for Structure

Marine had informal mentors in previous roles, but wanted something more structured. A new position had opened at her company that she was interested in applying for. She was looking for guidance on the application process, interview preparation, and a career development plan.

The program matched her with Alex Keating.

Connection From the Start

What made the mentorship feel different was the immediate connection. "We shared many common experiences, which made it easy to build rapport quickly. Alex made me feel at ease right away. She walked me through what to expect from the mentorship, encouraged me to take the lead on what I wanted to focus on, and was always available when I needed support."

Despite never meeting in person, the relationship developed naturally. "It truly felt like we had known each other for years, even though we had never met in person. I was able to set the pace, choose the topics, and learn from her experience throughout the process."

Marine had the freedom and possibility to make their meetings as comfortable and as productive as possible.

A Challenge That Shifted Things

Alex pushed Marine to think differently. "Alex challenged me to look at things through a different lens, pushing me to think beyond the obvious, advocate for myself more intentionally, and develop a stronger sense of confidence in my own voice."

That nudge toward self-advocacy and confidence became central to their work together.

Learning From Both Wins and Struggles

The qualities that had the biggest impact came from Alex's experience. "Her open-mindedness and depth of experience had the biggest impact on me. I was able to learn not only from her successes, but also from the challenges she's faced, which gave me valuable perspective."

Hearing about both the wins and the hard parts provided more useful guidance than just success stories would have.

Concrete Results

With Alex's support, Marine strengthened her interview skills and navigated the application process with more confidence. They also worked together on a year-long development plan that Marine presented to her leadership, which sparked meaningful conversations about her growth and future opportunities.

Changed Perspective

Marine already valued mentorship, but this experience shifted something. "I've always valued mentorship, but I was especially impressed by the quality of this program and how impactful it was to connect with someone new and gain a fresh perspective."

Advice for Others

When asked what she'd say to someone thinking about joining, Marine's answer is to: "Do it! Sign up and see where it takes you. You never know how impactful the experience and connections can be until you try."

Resources for Growth

For women in the gaming industry, especially those in the SPAM (Social Media, PR, Advertisement and Marketing) space, Marine recommends staying current with Social Media updates through newsletters like Shareable TL;DR, Social Media Today, and The Hey Orca Brief. But her top recommendation is more rare to find: "Finding a mentor is also high on my list of recommendations. Whether it's someone you already know or through programs like Global Gaming Women, having an outside perspective is incredibly valuable."

The Structured Difference

Marine's journey demonstrates what structured mentorship can offer. She came in with a specific goal - a new role she wanted to pursue - and clear areas she wanted to develop. By being matched with someone who shared her experiences, who made space for her to lead, and who could challenge her thinking, she moved from interest in a position to having conversations with leadership about her growth trajectory.

The difference between informal mentorship and a structured program became clear: access to someone with fresh perspective, dedicated time and intention was what made the experience special.