About a week ago, I was scrolling through the “People You May Know” section on my LinkedIn page, and I came across Walter Brasch, PhD, one of my college professors. It was strange to see his name came up because we didn’t have any shared connections from Bloomsburg University, my alma mater. As it turns out, we are connected through other people I have worked with over the years.
In addition to teaching several of the communications and journalism classes I took, Dr. Brasch was also my advisor. As an admittedly lazy student, I dreaded his courses because they were a lot of work, but, as it often the case, they were the classes from which I learned the most.
What really made him stand out, however, is the fact that he called me out on being a slacker. He very candidly told me that I had the potential to be a good writer, but if I didn’t start applying myself, I was going to end up working at McDonald’s. It was the wake-up call I needed to straighten out and fly right. I went to the editor of the school newspaper and begged for a job — any job — and started taking my classes more seriously. He also got me into an intense, two-week course that would meet a graduation requirement while also enabling me to get some hands-on experience with researching and reporting.
His message, however, was very clear: ‘Don’t mess this up. If you do, you’re on your own.’
I didn’t. I put together a portfolio of some clippings and applied to a number of internships. Thanks in part to Dr. Brasch’s recommendation, I became the first-ever female intern for the sports department of The Standard Speaker, a newspaper based in Hazleton, Pa. And that job helped open the door for more great opportunities.
It would have been easy — and understandable — for him to write me off, but he saw potential in someone that others wrote off as being unmotivated. He believed in me, and as it turns out, that was the motivation I needed.
After looking back at all of this, I decided to do two things.
- Contact Dr. Brasch and thank him — something I’m not sure I ever did back in the ’90s.
- Create a forum for others to acknowledge the people who helped them along the way by taking them under their wing, opening doors to new opportunities, or giving them the push they needed.
I realized that although I’ve never had someone who held a formal title as “mentor,” there are a handful of people who went above and beyond to help me realize my full potential and advance in my career.
To me, a mentor is someone who leads by example. Susan Cuozzo, my former editor at Fission Communications, had very high standards and no tolerance for laziness. She wouldn’t put her name on anything that was substandard. She was definitely tough to impress, but I quickly learned that if I worked hard and took initiative, Susan always had my back. I had (and will always have) a ton of respect for her.
A mentor is also someone who stays true to his word. When I was in high school, my father, Steve Huvane, always pushed me to try harder, and to leave it all on the field. Thanks to his encouragement, I landed a starting position on my field hockey team. And just as he promised, he was there on the sidelines offering me support.
And finally, a mentor is your biggest advocate. When Anthony Guerra and I worked together years ago for a publication, he mentored me by giving me the leeway to develop my own ideas and make my own mistakes. He acknowledged the hard work I put into the publication by taking off the training wheels and enabling me to thrive.
To me, a mentor isn’t necessarily someone who holds the title, but someone who walks the walk, whether it’s taking others under their wing, or leading by example. In the first installment of healthsystemCIO.com’s new series, ‘Acknowledging Our Mentors,’ Dale Sanders talks about the person who gave him “the freedom to be myself and allowed me to pursue crazy ideas, some of which were fruitful and some were not,” and how he helped shape his career.
Please check out Dale’s excellent blog, and, if you’re a hospital or health system executive and you’d like to submit a piece to the series, send me an e-mail.
It’s one way to give back to those who have given us so much.
Share Your Thoughts
You must be logged in to post a comment.