A Rosie Impact Story: Zeina & Kristen
The Rosie 1:1 Mentoring Program
Zeina, a VP at Ontario Power Generation, had years of leadership experience in aerospace and nuclear engineering under her belt. So, when the Rosie program first told her she hadn’t been matched as a mentor, she was more than a little surprised. Then, a couple of weeks later, she received a call that the right protegee had come along. “I realized,” she told us later, “you take the time to match. You look at the deeper layer around who mentors/protegees are, and what their histories are. If mentors are not matched well, that relationship might not work. If you can’t relate to the person, it means that you can’t be as open.”
When Kristen, Senior Project Manager at BGIS, applied to become a Rosie protegee, she was hoping for guidance. She was at a crossroad in her career and wanted advice on how to decide which turn was right for her. Rosie’s program administrators, after careful consideration, believed that Zeina was the perfect mentor to help Kristen navigate the fork in the road.
Zeina was immediately impressed with Kristen’s initiative. “At the very first meeting,” Zeina said, “she was prepared with thoughtful questions. And she shared the impact of our work together in every meeting after that.” In what both called a joyful experience, Zeina and Kristen spent many hours talking about Kristen’s career goals and the importance of blocking out other people’s opinions and seeking happiness. By the conclusion of their sessions, Kristen had made her career decision and was happy with her choice.
Mentorship can breakdown artificial barriers. Sometimes we get stuck inside our head and make problems so be much larger than they actually are
Both women, when we spoke with them recently, were emphatic in their praise for mentorship. “Mentorship can breakdown artificial barriers,” said Kristen. She added, “Sometimes we get stuck inside our head and make problems so be much larger than they actually are.” She reported that talking to a mentor helped open her mind and work through the challenge at hand. Zeina agrees in the importance of a guide through challenging times. She added that the Rosie 1:1 Mentoring Program had a bonus. She posited, “a lot of organizations have [internal mentoring programs], but the fact that Rosie is not connected means that people are a little freer to communicate. And at the same time, it also brings more diversity of experience, perspective and knowledge.”
Beyond the professional respect and trust that often comes from mentorship, Zeina and Kristen came to admire each other. Zeina noted that she often found herself hoping that her daughter would grow up to be like Kristen. And Kristen reported, “my mentor was incredibly sweet and nice, she was very open to listening to me, she always made time for me in her very busy schedule.”
Both women plan to continue on as mentors in the Rosie 1:1 Mentoring Program. We are delighted that these two extraordinary women benefited from Rosie and are grateful that they will continue to be a part of a program dedicated to working together towards career achievements.
Zeina, a VP at Ontario Power Generation, had years of leadership experience in aerospace and nuclear engineering under her belt. So, when the Rosie program first told her she hadn’t been matched as a mentor, she was more than a little surprised. Then, a couple of weeks later, she received a call that the right protegee had come along. “I realized,” she told us later, “you take the time to match. You look at the deeper layer around who mentors/protegees are, and what their histories are. If mentors are not matched well, that relationship might not work. If you can’t relate to the person, it means that you can’t be as open.”
When Kristen, Senior Project Manager at BGIS, applied to become a Rosie protegee, she was hoping for guidance. She was at a crossroad in her career and wanted advice on how to decide which turn was right for her. Rosie’s program administrators, after careful consideration, believed that Zeina was the perfect mentor to help Kristen navigate the fork in the road.
Zeina was immediately impressed with Kristen’s initiative. “At the very first meeting,” Zeina said, “she was prepared with thoughtful questions. And she shared the impact of our work together in every meeting after that.” In what both called a joyful experience, Zeina and Kristen spent many hours talking about Kristen’s career goals and the importance of blocking out other people’s opinions and seeking happiness. By the conclusion of their sessions, Kristen had made her career decision and was happy with her choice.
Mentorship can breakdown artificial barriers. Sometimes we get stuck inside our head and make problems so be much larger than they actually are.
Both women, when we spoke with them recently, were emphatic in their praise for mentorship. “Mentorship can breakdown artificial barriers,” said Kristen. She added, “Sometimes we get stuck inside our head and make problems so be much larger than they actually are.” She reported that talking to a mentor helped open her mind and work through the challenge at hand. Zeina agrees in the importance of a guide through challenging times. She added that the Rosie 1:1 Mentoring Program had a bonus. She posited, “a lot of organizations have [internal mentoring programs], but the fact that Rosie is not connected means that people are a little freer to communicate. And at the same time, it also brings more diversity of experience, perspective and knowledge.”
Beyond the professional respect and trust that often comes from mentorship, Zeina and Kristen came to admire each other. Zeina noted that she often found herself hoping that her daughter would grow up to be like Kristen. And Kristen reported, “my mentor was incredibly sweet and nice, she was very open to listening to me, she always made time for me in her very busy schedule.”
Both women plan to continue on as mentors in the Rosie 1:1 Mentoring Program. We are delighted that these two extraordinary women benefited from Rosie and are grateful that they will continue to be a part of a program dedicated to working together towards career achievements.
