Women in Technology of Tennessee recently finished the second year of its professional mentorship program. The three-month mentorship initiative matches entry- to mid-level professionals with senior-level female leaders to help them in their careers.
“We wanted to support professionals, all stages of a career, whether they be new in their career or looking for a switch in their career,” WiTT’soutreach director Wendy Kiepek, whose day job is at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said. “We wanted to provide them with positive role models. We wanted to connect the mentees with people in the technical field to have more visibility into what those practitioners’ or leaders’ role is like, and to help them learn new skills.”
Mentees are taught how to navigate through the industry while developing professional relationships. The pairs meet up once a month for mentor sessions.
“Our goal is that their relationship doesn't end when the formal part of the mentorship program [ends], so we're hoping that they stay in touch with each other,” Kiepeksaid. “They leverage each other not only when things are needed, but to just check in.”
According to Kiepek, the matching process includes mentors and mentees filling out a survey to highlight their interests and skills to help find the best matches. This year there were 34 mentors and 50 mentees in the program including mentee Dashea Boone (a program manager at VUMC) and mentor Anna Pannier (a vice president at Centauri Health Solutions).
Boone told the Post she was introduced to better network opportunities by her mentor and received advice to improve her interview techniques.
“This program has helped me grow not only as a professional but also as an individual,” she said. “I have realized things about myself I was not aware of, which is great because I can focus more on the weaker areas and strengthen them.”
Pannier added: “The WiTTmentor program gave me an opportunity to learn more about DaShae’s education and career path and opened my eyes further to situations where really smart, capable individuals like her may lack some self-confidence and may not have had professional role models.”