Two Heads Are Better Than One

This mentoring relationship has given me an advantage-I have some eyes inside the industry-and that will work in my favor as I plan my career.

Many colleges have a women's center on campus, and at community colleges such a center is often a primary resource for older students returning to school after years of being in the workforce or raising children or both. Through the Women's Center at Tidewater Community College's campus in Norfolk, Virginia, Barbara Bazemore learned about MentorNet.

"I'm a 42-year-old woman trying to figure out what she's doing in the world," Barbara says self-effacingly. "I knew I wanted to be in information technology (IT), but that's a broad category, and I needed help narrowing it down. I believed that having a mentor would give me some foresight into where I was going and how best to get there, and what to expect when I got there."

I think when mentors can include the personal side, it puts a protégé at ease and open doors to her asking different kinds of professional questions, too.

Barbara was matched with Tamara Henderson, supervisor of cost reduction and program control for the superduty platform at Ford Motor Company's North American Truck Division. Tamara came to Ford 12 years ago after earning her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering; while at Ford, she earned her master's degree in industrial engineering.

Eager to engage

MentorNet notified Barbara by email about the match, and about 20 minutes later she got her first email message from Tamara. "That made me feel that Tamara was a willing mentor and eager to engage with me, and I was excited about it, too," Barbara says.

As it turned out, Barbara's response to Tamara's first message ended up doubling her luck.

"Barbara sent a slew of questions, and I realized I didn't have the expertise to respond to them all," Tamara says. "I let her know that, and I also talked to my colleague, Donna Doss, who I thought could answer the questions I couldn't. I asked Donna if she'd help me mentor Barbara, and she said yes."

Donna, who works for Compuware as a senior business analyst, is an on-site consultant at Ford. Donna has a bachelor's degree in computer science and has had 17 years of work experience in information technology.

"Some of Barbara's questions were tactical, such as 'Should I go for my networking certification or for my bachelor's degree first?'" Donna says. "Others were cultural-'Is the field still male-dominated? If so, how do you work with that? Are there many women in upper management?'"

Ultimately Barbara's academic focus was influenced by the answers to those questions.

"Donna helped me understand that computer networking is a constant education, because technology moves so swiftly that you're always having to take classes to stay abreast of new developments," Barbara says. "I'm going to Norfolk State University this fall and seriously considering pursuing a master's degree, but I don't want to have to take classes continuously after that. So I'm leaning more towards programming, which allows me to pursue an IT area that will position me for an upper management role later."

A mix of personal and professional

Tamara and Barbara's early conversations revolved around professional matters butt quickly got personal, then leveled off to a mix of the two, Tamara says.

"I asked her how school is going, about this class or that class, and I also told her that my husband just came home after working abroad over the last seven months, and we told each other how we celebrated Christmas," she says. "I think when mentors can include the personal side, it puts a protégé at ease and opens doors to her asking different kinds of professional questions, too.

"Based on what I know about Barbara's personal life, I'm quite struck by her uniqueness: She's a middle-aged woman, older than me, a grandmother going back to school, working two jobs to support herself," Tamara says. "When I signed up with MentorNet, I imagined getting a 20-year-old, and instead I got this superwoman who has taken on so much." She adds that she'd like to continue to mentor Barbara as she moves to the university this fall.

Giving and receiving

The convenience of electronic mentoring and the chance to offer support appealed to both mentors.

"I think people who have done well or are well-situated have a duty to help others," Tamara says. "I wanted to mentor someone but if it hadn't been made so easy, I'm not sure I would have. As it is, I could fill out MentorNet's survey right at my computer and, after Barbara and I were matched, communicate with her by email at any time of the day or evening."

Adds Donna, "I wish I'd had this type of mentoring when I was in college. I come from a blue-collar family and didn't have access to people in professions. My parents still don't understand what I do, and as technology changes I may not understand the fields my kids go into. This program gives students more access to people in the profession they're pursuing or want to explore."

For Barbara, Tamara's support has been a boon both personally and professionally.

"Knowing there's someone out there who's concerned about where I'm going and what I'm doing, who's willing to help me, has given me a feeling of security and companionship. I feel like I could email or call Tamara about anything," she says. "This mentoring relationship has given me an advantage-I have some eyes inside the industry-and that will work in my favor as I plan my career. It's exactly what I was wishing for."