For me, mentorship was a new experience and I admit, I got lucky!

Tori Borunda, our X3 intern, made mentoring an encouraging opportunity for not only me, but our entire team at AGC New Mexico. Tori came to us with three previous X3 experiences. Tori was an ACE Leadership High School graduate that expressed her passion for giving back, community involvement, and family. Understanding Tori’s values helped me assign tasks that aligned with these passions. For example, she crafted a press release that interviewed and shared the recent training experience of two ACE Leadership High School students that received a Crane Certification training scholarship. 

Mentorship became a mutually-rewarding and beneficial experience for our entire staff, as we offered Tori guidance and advice, encouragement, exposure and visibility, networking, and coaching. Tori surprised me by offering insightful observations and notions on meetings she attended. It was impressive that a high schooler was able to assess perspectives in such a mindful manner. We felt confident relying on Tori to pitch in on logistical and operational tasks that were unpredictable.

Tori is a breath of fresh air, clarifying the intent and expected outcome of every task, no matter how small. She isn’t afraid to be involved in the process. Tori will ask questions and offer solutions, bringing new and enthusiastic awareness to our team. We are so grateful to her.

What Tori Taught Me 

I didn’t expect to personally learn so much from the experience. My “ah-ha!” moment was understanding that mentorship is about mutual learning. Mentorship spans beyond benefits to the mentee, but to your own. It’s about respecting values and expectations. Tori taught me that a younger perspective keeps us more relevant to the changing world and workforce. My frame of reference has expanded and I have a better insight into how younger minds think and their hunger to share value and purpose.

There is so much to be learned from your mentee and the critical skills you develop as a result. Self-awareness is a powerful tool; mentoring is another way to become more self-aware.

Why Mentoring Matters

Attracting and retaining talent is more important than ever, and mentorship opportunities can be leveraged as part of that process. The 2016 Deloitte survey “Winning over the next generation of leaders” found that new employees are twice as likely to stay at the job for more than five years if they have a mentor. Motivating young minds to imagine and achieve the possibilities before them benefits our community as a whole.    

I plan to stay invested in Tori’s professional development, helping her to build relationships, strengthen professional networks and understand the power of gratitude.

The key to being a good mentor is to help people become more of who they already are—not to make them more like you.
-Suze Orman