Washington Business Spring 2017 | Washington Business | Page 38

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He ended up selecting a Washington-based company to pursue
his internship. I was working with him while he was in his
internship. My guidance to him was, ‘Use your education, your
rosemary brester: We’ve developed an internship program here MBA, get out on the shop floor at the factory’ he was working in,
at our company. I have to say that mentoring and having interns and implement something.
He was doing that, and doing
come work with us has been most rewarding.
a really good job. But he kept
We bring the interns in when they’re 15 years
informing me the other four guys
old, so their parents have to drive them and the
— other interns — were keeping
parents see what we do. Most companies won’t do
their time in the office. And they’re
that because of the risk. But we start them in the
office, not the shop floor. As they get older they get
coming up with these big models and
to work their way out to the floor. What it does is
all the money they could save. And
— Austin Neilson, millennial
allow them to get a different view from a smaller
he said, ‘I’m really worried that I’m
business standpoint. And they can’t believe the
not going to compete well at all.’
requirements and the regulations that we have to follow just like a I kept saying, ‘One thing I really look for in people is the ability
large company.
to network, to get things done, the ability to drive change.’ If you
I can’t tell you how many thank you letters that these students can go out and show that, you will do well.
write back to us. We see kids from broken families. We see students He called me and said the management couldn’t believe that I got
who say, ‘Oh my gosh, you’ve changed my life.’
all that implemented, that it was actually in place. They were shocked.
We treat these students like they’re part of our family.
It was really rewarding. He got a great offer from that company.
shiloh schauer: I feel like I have been mentored through many He went to work for them and is progressing well in his career.
what’s your most satisfying mentorship experience
(could be as a mentor or mentee)?
I think it’s the stereotype
that millennials are lazy,
uninterested and selfish. I
don’t think it’s that way at all.
stages of my personal and professional development. Looking
back at different roles, I’ve always had a positive female
mentor. My favorite most recently is state Sen. Linda Evans
Parlette. Getting to work with her for 10 years and seeing
her compass, strong sense of principles and values and how
she compromised without compromising those values. And,
understanding the importance of being at the table so that you
can participate in the conversation and, hopefully, bring about
a better outcome. She taught me so much about collaboration.
She would often say, ‘it doesn’t matter how I vote, it matters
why I voted the way I did and that I own it and can explain
it.’ That is something that is really important for upcoming
generations to understand, too. You need to own the choices
that you’re going to make, good or bad, and move forward.
austin neilson: I consider myself really fortunate to have
not one, but several people who are leading professionals in
their field. They took the time to make me understand what
government affairs is at its core. I could never have learned that
stuff from a textbook, an article or writing papers in college.
barry hullett: One thing I routinely do is I participate in a
veteran mentoring program called American Corporate Partners.
It’s for veterans exiting the armed services, to help them integrate
into the workforce.
One comes to mind that I found particularly satisfying. He’d
just left armed forces after eight years or so and was pursuing
his MBA. I started working with him in his final year. He was
pursuing internships. So we provided some services here,
resume writing, interviewing skills.
38 association of washington business
William Wiley (left, then PNNL laboratory director) was a mentor to Wayne
Martin (right, then deputy technical program manager for PNNL Office of
Environmental Technologies). The two stand with a PNNL student intern in this
1991 file photo. Wiley, who died in 1996, was an enthusiastic mentor to many
black researchers while at PNNL, including Martin. Courtesy of Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory