Mentoring is, very often, a very personal experience. The Professional Edge asked some prominent APEGS volunteers to share their stories about how mentors made a difference in their lives.
Kevin Hudson, P.Eng. – Past Chair of the Environment and Sustainability committee
My main career mentor was Edward Boulay, B.Ed., who was the programs supervisor of NOVA Corporation of Alberta in Brooks, AB. Ed was my field supervisor for my engineer-in-training program, when I rotated through various field positions for a one-year period, learning the ins and outs of the natural gas pipeline business.
Ed was a very encouraging, organized and supportive supervisor, with a great sense of humour. Ed’s background was as a technical trainer for the utility. With his background as an educator, he was adept at giving just enough direction to get you started, yet encouraged independent thinking, without compromising safety or standards.
Of all my supervisors I have had through my career, I still look back at my year with Ed as one of the best experiences working as an engineer. I liked it so much, I even married a teacher a few years later!
“Ed taught me to eagerly accept challenges as opportunities and to say yes to new experiences. You’ll never know what is waiting for you if you don’t take the first step and find out.”
During one of my field rotations I was working as part of the commissioning team on a controls upgrade for a large gas turbine and centrifugal compressor, at the biggest natural gas compressor station in Alberta. While ringing out some control wiring, I inadvertently shorted-out a critical power supply, which caused the station to go into blowdown (i.e. all gas within the station was vented to atmosphere). This was a costly mistake.
Instead of making me feel worse after the incident, Ed helped me learn from my mistake, improve the commissioning process and be more careful – these are lessons I have never forgotten over the past 27 years working in the energy industry in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
H. Colin Pitman, P.Eng. – Chair of the Student Development committee
had three people who had strong influences on my career. The first was my father, H. Ross Pitman, P. Geol. The second was Nathalie Gagnon, P.Eng. The last person was Jared Orynik, P.Eng. Nathalie was a colleague I worked with on one of my very first projects after finishing school. Jared is a project manager I worked with on a couple of projects before and after getting my P.Eng.
“My dad was the person who first got me interested in engineering. He taught me problem-solving at an early age and also taught me about breaking down larger problems into more manageable chunks.”
Nowadays my dad tends to give me more advice about dealing with professional life as well as having a family. Recently I was struggling at work with poor communication with some managers. My dad gave me some suggestions on how to best approach these managers in order to resolve the problem.
My dad has mentored several young geologists and engineers throughout his career. He often travels to the University of Toronto where he got his degree to give lectures to students on resume writing and on what to expect when they enter the profession.
Nathalie taught me how to handle myself in a professional manner. One of the first projects I worked involved meeting a client two hours out of town. By the end of the day, I was getting impatient and eager to hit the road and that started to affect my manners with the client. Nathalie took me aside and explained to me the type of behaviour that was expected of an engineer in the consulting business. She is currently working for SNC Lavalin in Montreal.
Jared is a person who likes to lead by example. Quite often he will go out of his way to ensure the people working on his projects are supported and have the equipment they need to get the job done. I enjoyed working on Jared’s projects because I knew I wasn’t the only one putting in extra effort to finish the job. While working on site over the weekend to commission one of Jared’s projects, we realized that the supplier had given us the wrong relay for an electrical panel. Jared stopped what he was doing, picked up the correct relay and drove it out to the site so we could continue working.
Jared also has a young family and, while he is dedicated to his work, he also knows when to take a break to give his family the attention it needs.
Margaret-Anne Hodges, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) – Past President
had so many mentors in my early career that I’m reluctant to name one or even a few for fear of leaving someone out. But one mentor who left a major impression on me came rather later in my career – former APEGS Executive Directive and Registrar Dennis Paddock, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) as well as his wife Wendy.
Dennis created an environment of trust and respect. Working with him on council and travelling with him and Wendy was a huge development opportunity.
“I learned a great deal about leadership from Dennis. He always advised me to bring my council along with me in terms of leadership vision and goals. He helped me listen, pay attention and get feedback.”
You have to engage them. Don’t get upset if people disagree with your goals. You end up with a better solution if you listen to the areas of weaknesses and risk. The reason for having a council is to be counselled.
Both Dennis and Wendy were also great supports for me on the national level when dealing with Engineers Canada. At that level, we were dealing with engineers and geoscientists associations from across the country, each with its own unique perspective, goals and way of doing things.
The launch of the 30 by 30 initiative, which is very dear to my heart, was under Dennis’s watch and he helped me look at the initiative from a broader perspective that would not just involve APEGS but also universities, government and Engineers Canada. On that score, Wendy, who travelled with Dennis for so many years, was invaluable to me in making introductions for me in social settings, bringing me into conversations and helping me build relationships.
In addition to what I gained from Dennis and Wendy during my presidency, my position also helped me to be a better mentor to others.
In one memorable case, a young female engineer-in-training came to me for advice about asking for a salary increase and proving her value to the organization. Although it was a chance meeting, she felt comfortable talking to me as a friend and experienced female engineer in a prominent position in APEGS. I was pleased to give her advice and I was nearly in tears when I heard later that it had worked out for her. Those are the moments that make mentoring and volunteering in general worthwhile.