We Need Mentorship Now More Than Ever

Earlier this year, I had the honor of being inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. As I considered what to say at the ceremony, I thought back to my senior year at Auburn University, where I was an engineering major working really hard to get good grades. I was so focused on finishing strong that I wasn’t thinking much about life after college, let alone finding a job.

Now in 2020, one of my sons is a recent college grad and the other is going into his final year. As a parent, I’m seeing firsthand that many people are finding themselves at a crossroads at what should be an exciting time in their life and work. Planning for the future is a challenge even in the best of times but is now completely fraught, given the health and economic crises our world is facing. As a senior at Auburn, I recall needing help to figure out what was next – I was lucky enough to meet someone who did just that for me.

Leon Pace was the Exxon engineering campus recruiter, and he persistently reached out to me, setting me up with an interview and helping me complete the job application. Leon intuitively understood that I couldn’t quite visualize the next step after graduation, but he was more than willing to help show me the way.

And I am so grateful that he did. When I recently posted about my new role as president of ExxonMobil Upstream Business Development Company, I talked about entering the oil and gas industry in 1986 during a historic downturn. Even in those extremely tough economic times, Exxon honored my job offer while a friend had her offer from another large oil and gas company rescinded.

Without Leon, that might have been me. I appreciate the critical role that he played in my life and was thrilled that he was in attendance at the Hall of Fame ceremony. He was my first real mentor. As I’ve spent the last few decades working at ExxonMobil, I’ve come to value mentorship more and more.

Why is this necessary? Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.” I love the simplicity and truth of that. We all have within ourselves talents and skills, ambitions and values that become great potential – the “can” that Emerson spoke about. But we often need someone else to “make” us reach that potential and tap into that “can.”

And we’re not necessarily equipped to do the work of finding a mentor when we need one the most, especially when we’re less sure than ever of what the future holds. As a senior at Auburn, I certainly wasn’t. It took Leon’s continual efforts to reach me to make me see and eventually do what I was capable of.

That night at the ceremony, I also encouraged everyone in the audience to do for a promising young person what Leon did for me. And it’s something I stress when I speak to my ExxonMobil colleagues. None of us got to where we are alone, and it’s important to keep your eyes and ears open to someone less experienced who may be struggling during these uncertain times, and pay it forward. 

Experience and perspective are valuable, and in addition to providing advice, you will gain valuable insights, a fresh outlook, and perhaps, like Leon and me, a long-term friend.   

Believe me, it will make a difference one day.