Experiences of an eMentor - Giving
Something Back to the Next Generation of Employees
Maria Witthans is an
Information Technology Business Consultant with Nike.
She is one on the many business professionals who have
volunteered to be eMentors to the students who have
received scholarships from Incight, Inc.
OBLN:
Maria, how did you learn about Incight’s eMentoring
Program?
Maria
Witthans: I became friends with Aubrie Abbott when
she was with Nike. After she moved to Incight, I did
some volunteer work for them. About six months ago,
Aubrie asked if I would be interested in participating
in the eMentoring Program.
OBLN:
In a nutshell, what is the eMentoring Program?
Maria Witthans: The
eMentoring Program pairs Incight’s scholarship
recipients, those who are attending college, with
business professionals – sometimes, but not necessarily,
in their personal field of interest or profession.
Both the students and the
mentors fill out questionnaires about their goals,
fields of interests, preferences, etc. Incight uses this
information to match student mentees with mentors.
As a mentor, you are given files
of about three students to review and choose from. I
reviewed all three profiles and I was really keen on two
of the students – so I have two mentees myself. One of
them is local and the other is on the East Coast.
OBLN:
As a mentor, what kind of commitment are you making?
Maria Witthans: It is a
one-year commitment. The basic commitment is to be in
touch with your mentee every week via email and, if
possible, to either speak to them on the phone or have
face-to-face meetings twice a year. The actual schedule
can vary according to the individual needs of the
student and what level of mentoring you are providing.
OBLN:
What kind of issues have you covered in your mentoring
relationships?
Maria Witthans: Susan
Anderson had done some great volunteer work before, yet
no formal paid work experience. I wanted her to get a
feel for time clocks and deliverables. When we began,
Susan already had a summer internship in the works, but
we explored other ways that she could get some work
experience if that fell through. When it did work out, I
met her for lunch at her workplace. I visited her
cubicle and found out what she was working on, the
manuals she had to use – just to get a better sense of
how it was going for her and how I could support her.
Jessica Herzler came out of high
school with a lot of work experience. She had spent an
entire year doing work study in a real estate office.
She has a general idea of her career goals but is having
difficulty choosing her major - management, marketing or
finance? She also has interests in computer science and
information technology. She needs to make a decision
soon and she and I are working through this together.
OBLN:
Is your ongoing contact with these students initiated by
you or by them?
Maria Witthans: I usually
check in with them. Incight has developed a great goal
sheet which we have used to jointly determine goals,
barriers, ways to overcome the barriers, a timeline for
implementing it, and what each of our roles are going to
be.
OBLN:
As a mentor, what kind of support to you get from
Incight?
Maria Witthans: Aubrie
Abbott is there throughout the entire process, sends the
mentors and mentees their application forms, she
interviews each of us individually, she coordinates the
matching and the introductions, she sends us the goal
sheets, she checks in with us regularly, and she holds
us accountable for making progress on the goals. Aubrie
also holds occasional lunches with all the mentors.
Mentors receive a book from
Incight called “Share the Wisdom: The Art of Mentoring”.
Incight also gives each mentor a toolkit that outlines
the “how to’s” of mentoring, the challenges that you
might encounter, and the boundaries of the mentor-mentee
relationship.
OBLN:
With the two students that you are mentoring, what are
the specific goals that you have targeted as outcomes of
your relationships with them?
Maria Witthans: The goals
are very individualized for each mentee. Jessica and I
are focusing on figuring out her choice of a major and a
good internship opportunity for next summer. Susan has
strong interests in community planning and ADA
(Americans with Disabilities Act) issues, so we are
exploring what her career options are in those areas and
what types of work experiences would be best.
OBLN:
How has your actual experience with the eMentoring
Program differed from what you had expected when you
signed up?
Maria Witthans: I had
really expected them to both be contacting me every week
and I was worried about them contacting me too much
instead of too little. I thought it would be more
demanding on my time than it has turned out to be.
OBLN:
What would you say to other employers who might be
thinking about volunteering as an eMentor?
Maria Witthans:
eMentoring is not a heavy commitment. It is something
that you can easily fit into your own schedule. One more
email to respond to each week is not a heavy addition to
your workload. Personally, it has also been really
validating. It has been a great way to give something
back to the next generation of employees.
Special
Event - December 5
Incight
is a Portland-based organization. Its mission is to
educate and employ people with disabilities. The "Incight"
name is a hybrid of the word Incite, to spark a passion,
and Insight, to possess intimate knowledge of a topic or
situation. Incight provides the tools and skills for
those with disabilities to advance their education, seek
and obtain employment, and become active participants in
their communities. One of its programs is eMentoring -
through which they team up working professionals with
Incight Scholars (students who have been recipients of
Incight scholarships). The volunteer mentors help the
students to navigate their way towards success in their
education and career aspirations. 
Aubrie
Abbott: Each new mentor receives a training package
that includes expectations of the program, general
mentoring ideas, disability etiquette guidelines, etc.
Once they are matched with a student, I check in with
them every two weeks during the first month and a half.
After that, I check in with each of them on a monthly
basis. I am also readily available to them, by phone or
email, anytime that they have a question or concern.