Mentoring
Members Appreciate Opportunity Fellows Gave Through Mentoring Program
Fellows mentor Stephanie Young and mentee Madeleine Borg at USITT 2016
For the second year the Fellows of the Institute assisted two members at USITT 2016 through their Early Career Mentoring.
Two Early Career Members – Madeleine Borg and Uldarico Sarmiento -- attended the Conference and were connected with Fellows Mentors. Stephanie Young and Michael Ramsaur were generous with their time in providing guidance to Madeleine and Uldarico.
Here are some excerpts from the narrative reports Madeleine and Uldarico wrote.
Madeleine Borg:
For the Early Career Mentorship, I was paired with the amazing Stephanie Young. Prior to the convention, she and I met over the phone to get to know each other. As I found out more about her background and she heard more about my career goals, she proceeded to give me a list of names of everyone I needed to meet at USITT 2016.
Once we both got to the Conference, we had dinner and readdressed the main topics from our previous conversation. This time she gave a page-long list of people to meet. During the Management Commission Meeting, she went out of her way to introduce me to these people.
One of the other major benefits to this Conference was the fact that I got to be a part of the Production Manager’s Forum. This Conference was such an amazing experience, and I wouldn’t have had such a productive and invigorating time without the direction and involvement of Stephanie Young. She played an active role in my time at USITT 2016, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Uldarico Sarmiento:
I was lucky enough to get Michael Ramsaur as my mentor, especially considering his experience with international activities.
I got to meet and talk to Mr. Ramsaur on Thursday morning. We met for a little over an hour, and he was able to give me tips on life in academia as well as on international networking. One of my goals of joining USITT and attending the Conference was to network and find ways of getting more involved, especially in international activities.
I was able to attend the International Activities Meeting where I learned about OISTAT and other international endeavors. On Thursday night I attended the Opera America Reception. This provided a great opportunity to see the Utah Opera’s amazing production facilities. This event also provided great networking opportunities.
Had it not been for the Early Career Mentor program, I would not have been able to attend the Conference or, at least, I would not have been able to take part in some of the training and opportunities it provided me. The stipend was an immense help to cover the costs of travel and lodging. I am very thankful for this opportunity and hope this helps future Early Career Members the way it helped me.
Nominations are being accepted for USITT’S 2017 Early Career Mentoring Program. Details here.
