ASCE Orange County Mentorship Program
Applications are OPEN for the 2021-2022 Mentorship Program!
Click below to sign up
Mission Statement:
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Orange County (OC) Mentorship Program pairs young professionals with experienced engineers to best enhance and guide the young professional’s career and maximize their potential.
Vision Statement:
The Vision of the ASCE OC Mentorship Program is to provide invaluable guidance to young professionals to establish and attain their goals while providing a meaningful opportunity to experienced engineers to contribute to the Civil Engineering community.
Mentoring Process:
The Mentoring Process is designed to begin and end within a twelve-month period. The program consists of the following activities
- Mentor and Protégé enrollment
- Pairing of Protégés with Mentor
- Speed Interviews
- Mentorship Program Kickoff
- Mentors and Protégés to meet on their own throughout the year
- Mid-Year Check-In
- Participants will be encouraged to attend other ASCE OC Events
- Closing Mentorship Banquet
- Continuous program feedback
- Social events for Mentorship participants
Mentor and Protégé Enrollment and Pairing Process:
Members interested in becoming either mentors or protégés are asked to complete the program forms distributed by ASCE Orange County during the application process. Participants are expected to read the entirety of all documents provided prior to the application process. Enrollment is limited to, and at the discretion of the Mentorship Committee. There are limited opportunities available to participate and not all applicants may be selected to participate. Participants must be members in good standing (actively enrolled) with ASCE to be eligible.
Enrollment:
Following the enrollment, the Mentorship Committee will begin the pairing process based on the choices provided by each mentor and protégé participant. The pairs will be made based on several criteria such as program goals, career discipline, development interest, personality, and the Speed Interview event. The committee will make an effort to pair individuals with their choices, however, no guarantees shall be made.
Roles and Responsibilities:
The roles and responsibilities for mentors and protégé will be unique to every relationship. The goals set between each mentor and protégé will serve as a guide for their relationship. The following should be considered between mentorship pairs:
- Desired outcome from the relationship. What are the goals of this mentoring relationship?
- Determination of communication techniques. Multiple and effective means of keeping in touch. Try to anticipate problems before they may arise. For example, if the mentor travels often, face-to-face meetings may be harder to schedule than meetings by phone.
- In-person meetings are highly encouraged between scheduled events Setting time aside to have an effective relationship outside of scheduled events. How often do we meet? Where or how will we meet?
Events:
Speed Mentoring Event
Once the list of participants is finalized; program participants will be invited to attend the Speed Interview Event. This event is designed to be a meet and greet which encourages the pairing of compatible mentors and protégés. This event serves as as a forum to set expectations for the program, provide the necessary tools to start a successful mentor relationship and to answer any questions about successful mentor relationship and to answer any questions about the program. Mentors and protégés will select their top three choices.
Mentorship Kick-off Event
The Kick-off event will announce Mentor/Protégé pairings as well as provide an opportunity for mentors and protégés to get to know each other and start building the framework for their relationship. This will be an ideal time for mentors and protégés to establish their goals for the year. the program. Mentors and protégés will select their top three choices.
Mid-Year Check-In Event
The Mid-Year Check-In will serve as a method to further strengthen relationships built while providing an opportunity for adjustments and evaluation of individual goals set forth during the Kick-Off event. The event will also assess the effectiveness of the mentorship program, resources, and mentoring relationships.
Closing Mentorship Banquet
This event concludes the program year and provides an opportunity to show appreciation to those who have participated. This event will be social and will include an opportunity to provide feedback for improving future program years as new mentor and protégé relationships are paired and developed.
Resources:
Check out some photos below from our previous programs!
Mentor and Protege Testimonials
Marionne Lapitan - Protege
"The ASCE Orange County Mentorship Program was insightful, inspiring, and empowering. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of this year’s batch. My mentor’s kindness, willingness to listen to my story, and wisdom while sharing her own experiences, were all qualities that I’ve learned and grown from. Beyond that, as a mentor, she has always uplifted, supported, and guided me in moments where I found myself unworthy, unsure, or unqualified. As a recent graduate, our conversations allowed me to gain perspective and confidence to further pursue my passions in developing my engineering career. With this, the greatest gift I gained through the program is the fact that I have found trustworthy support and a confidant in the industry. I truly had an invaluable experience as a protége. In addition, the ASCE OC Mentorship Committee continuously works to improve and are committed to actively support early career, mid-career, and seasoned professionals in the civil engineering industry through presentations tailored to their career development. I highly recommend the program to anyone and everyone!"
Joohi Sood - Mentor
"My experience with the ASCE mentoring program has been delightful. It was well organize and facilitated even though we had to contend with a pandemic. The program leaders were very creative in finding ways for mentors and protégés to communicate and to keep the group activities interactive and interesting. I found my interaction with my protégé very rewarding and this program was a growth opportunity for me. I feel excited about continuing with this program in the future."
Gabriel Munoz-Morris - Protege
"The ASCE Mentorship Program was a wonderful experience! I felt that my mentor cared about me both personally and professionally and helped guide me to make career decisions during our time together. I also had a project that I needed some information for and was able to leverage my relationship with my mentor to get the answers I needed. It was great to see that personal friendship translate directly to a project! My mentor was very willing to meet with me and worked around my schedule. We crafted a relationship that worked well for both of us and were able to set routine lunch dates where we discussed the profession, our personal lives, and our career goals. We both encouraged each other to pursue professional advancement through involvement with different organizations and promotional opportunities. I truly feel that I have made a friend and will value the relationship with my mentor for the rest of my career"
Ethan Yuxiang He - Protege
"The mentorship program is wonderful. It is about personal growth, experience sharing, like a bridge between entry-level and senior engineers. The most important thing I learn from my mentor, Gary Solsona, is how to build self-worth either in the engineering field or an organization, like ASCE. To be specific, one can gain more professional development and connections, by contributing more to one’s company or community, and taking more responsibilities. My mentor emphasizes increasing self-value to me many times, which makes me think deeper and think earlier than others about my career as an entry-level engineer."
Josue Vaglienty - Mentor
"The ASCE OC Mentorship Program benefits both Mentors and Proteges alike. Proteges benefit from being paired with a professional that can provide advice, insights, and value as well as lend a ear to their top concerns as they navigate through their early careers. Mentors benefit from learning how to practice their active listening skills as well as maintaining two-way communication with their assigned proteges. Both Mentors and Proteges benefit from ASCE OC’s numerous networking and professional development opportunities. Finally, the ASCE OC Mentorship Committee is committed to making the program better every year by constantly evaluating what works and what doesn’t."
Haley Witzeman - Protege
"I had such a great time in the ASCE OC Mentorship Program. The speed networking was a unique experience to learn more about all of the different routes mentors have gone through their careers. The presentations at the kickoff event and mid-year check in were well put together and helpful to professionals of all ages; the speakers shared new, thought-provoking ideas that we could discuss with our mentors or as an entire group. Participating in the program fresh out of college gave me a unique opportunity to ease into professional life. I was able to ask honest questions about my experiences and challenges as a younger engineer. Whether we talked about communication in the workplace, management, finances, and even work-life balance, I truly enjoyed learning from and exchanging stories with my mentor."
Kevin DuMont - Mentor
"It is a way for both mentor and protégé to grow in our chosen engineering professions, to share experiences of work life balance, to elaborate on office environments, and to build professional relationships. I have found, through my experience with ASCE, that by teaching and sharing, I am learning and expanding my own knowledge. Being able to share my erudition in the greater engineering field not only confirms what I know, but allows me to elaborate on the multitude of engineering subjects. Engaging with the upcoming generations has also proven a substantial benefit of ASCE because it allows me, as a mentor, to seek to understand to be understood."
Chaitanya Kukutla (KC) - Protege
"The mentorship program is a valuable experience for me. It helped me better understand the pathways to be chosen to achieve my career goals. This program is a great opportunity to gain valuable insight of not only one's professional career, but also of personal life. I highly recommend this program to my fellow engineers. As they say, you don't have to do it all to know it all. You just have to talk to a person who did it all and who is willing to share/teach it all, as he learned, or even better. In my case, my mentor, Tom is such a person who is willing to share his experience and wisdom, while closely listening to you. A big kudos to the amazing ASCE OC Branch and Mentorship committee for their efforts and time in putting this amazing and seamless program together. Thank you mentorship committee once again for this opportunity."
