Haskayne Professional Mentorship Program

"Nothing is worth the making if
It does not make the man
...
In vain we build the work, unless
The builder also grows."^*1

Haskayne has actively been "building" its students through mentorship for fifteen years. For most of us, this program is at the heart of what CCAL is and does.

Small beginnings: in a coffee shop, on a napkin

It was August of 2002. Most students were still travelling, immersed in their internships or focused on other way to enjoy their final weeks of summer vacation. Taira Hutchings was in a local café thinking about her future – or, more sincerely, worrying about her future. She was confident in the classroom (she had been a student most of her life) but she had no idea what to expect once she graduated after her final year and no one to guide her first steps into this unknown world.

Not one to remain passively gripped by her fears, Taira began to consider what might make that transition from school to professional life a little easier. "If I'm feeling this way," she reasoned, "there might be other students who feel the same." She began to jot down her ideas on the café napkin – a blueprint of the Haskayne's Professional Mentorship program.

Taira began a conversation with the Dean and Associate Dean. They, in turn, reached out to Bonnie DuPont, a senior Vice President with Enbridge whose portfolio included information technology, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, public and government affairs and – most importantly for this initiative – human resources.

In Bonnie's words, it was "a perfect alignment" between Taira's personal aspirations and Enbridge's eagerness to develop local talent. There was a little more in the picture beyond circumstances. Both Bonnie and Taira are convinced that mentorship is critical for developing strong professionals, healthy economies and thriving communities. For Bonnie, Edwin Markham's poem "Man-making" captures her guiding principle throughout her successful career as a corporate executive and community builder.

"To be a strong leader, you need to practice mentorship": from one-to-one mentorship to a community of advanced leadership

After Taira's graduation, the Haskayne's Career Services took over the program to ensure continuity. In 2013, with the start of a leadership centre within Haskayne, CCAL emerged as the natural home for the mentorship program. After all, to Taira and others, "to be a strong leader, you need to practice mentorship."

What leadership does a mentor practice? Max Chan, a mentor since 2004, points out that besides "helping steer someone through decisions" mentorship is a way to pay it forward. "You can and should give back.  Sharing knowledge and experience is part of leadership, it is leadership in action.”  Mentorship also shows that business is about more than financial gain – “I get as much as I put in,” shares Max, “but mentorship also shows that business includes a long-term intangible investment in people that has a long-term societal benefit.”

Max, currently the Director of Treasury at Enbridge, is also an excellent example of how the Haskayne Mentorship Program has grown and evolved over the years.

“I engage former mentees with my current mentees. Being part of the program for so long has allowed me to build a network of people who care. In fact, one of my former mentees decided to become a mentor because he had gotten so much out of the program that he wanted to give back.”

Besides engaging professionals from the business community, the mentorship program has created a community where mentees and mentors get to know one another and expand their networks. From the program’s kick-off breakfast to the end of year wrap-up events, there are opportunities to network and learn more about mentorship throughout the academic year. The program focuses on the mentor – mentee relationship in the context of a wider community. According to mentor Jenn Lofgren (MCC and founder of Incito), as a mentor or mentee with the Haskayne Mentorship Program, “you are part of a bigger community that is there to support your mentee become her/his very best – it is really a one to many and many to one experience.”

Fifteen years of generous leaders mentoring students and creating far-reaching impact is something to celebrate because together we can do more and better – this is the Haskayne Mentorship Program. See for yourself in our video “15 Years of Mentorship at Haskayne.”

^*1“Man-making” by Edwin Markham