Just in time for the New Year, it’s National Mentor Month. As 2025 kicks off, learn more about how the right mentor can help you reach your career goals in the months ahead.
“When you talk to highly successful people, they seem to have one thing in common: a trusted mentor who helped them along the way,” notes UMGC Associate Vice President, Alumni Relations, Nikki Sandoval. “At UMGC, we’re honored to be able to offer our students and alumni access to mentors of their own so they can benefit from their insight and wisdom.”
UMGC spoke with three alumni mentors to find out about their own career challenges over the years and hear their best advice for achieving their professional aspirations. Here’s what they had to say.
Ministerial counselor and Reverand Barbara Lane ‘95, MA, OMC, weighs in on the joys—and challenges—of supporting families in need
Counselor and award-winning and bestselling author of “Broken Water: An Extraordinary True Story”
Q: What exactly do you do as a ministerial counselor?
A: I offer support and guidance to individuals and families in need of spiritual counsel. This approach has proven to be highly effective, especially for families facing challenges with child abuse or dealing with trauma within the family dynamic.
Q: What is the biggest challenge you have faced as you tried to progress in your career, and how did you overcome it?
A: In all professions that involve helping others, there is a sense of fulfillment and happiness when healing is achieved, and the system works smoothly for an individual or family.
However, it can be difficult to handle situations where things don't go as expected. Holding a young child who has been separated from their family can be heart-wrenching, and witnessing someone relapse into substance abuse can be discouraging. Despite these challenges, we must remember that they are bound to happen. To cope with the emotional toll, I trust in God and focus on doing my best, leaving the rest to my Higher Power.
Q: As an experienced counselor, what is the biggest challenge you see for those who are new to the field?
A: It is clear that improving the welfare system as a whole is a challenging task. Despite efforts to implement changes, it is often difficult to see positive outcomes. I am able to work outside of the system and secure resources, when possible, but those entering the field should be aware of the challenges they will face in family welfare. It is important to celebrate successes, but it can be hard to do so when faced with heartbreaking cases.
Q: What’s your best advice to help new counselors thrive in this challenging field?
A: It is helpful to share their struggles with others. Finding a group of individuals who are experiencing similar types of stress, often traumatized by working on the frontlines, is essential.
Q: How can a mentor help new counselors maintain their own mental and emotional health?
A: Having a trusted mentor can be incredibly beneficial. No professional will have all the answers, which is why having a mentor to bounce ideas off of and tackle difficult situations with is crucial. Mentors also provide valuable support by offering a safe space to discuss and reflect on progress and challenges faced in one's work.
Q: You’ve been as a mentor a number of times. What is the most satisfying part of serving in this role?
A: Mentors and mentees have valuable lessons to offer each other. Every student I engage with imparts some form of knowledge to me, creating a mutually beneficial relationship. The significance of sharing knowledge from one generation to the next is often overlooked. This relationship adds greatly to the wealth of growing knowledge and sparks a passion that can become contagious. In my opinion, this is such a valuable resource, and I am honored to participate.
Adrienne Heft '22 shares how the UMGC network helped her forge her own career path—and what inspired her to become a mentor in her own right
Program Analyst, U.S. Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Q: How did you determine what career you wanted to pursue after earning your degree from UMGC?
A: I didn’t have an exact career path in mind post-graduation, but I had a few ideas that needed cultivation. I began by reaching out within the UMGC mentor network, and subsequently by reaching out to professionals on Linkedin who worked within my fields of interest.
After graduation, I attended one of UMGC’s virtual career fairs and ended up connecting with a recruiter from the defense industry. This began my journey into government contracting. I currently work for TechSource, a contractor to the Department of Energy. I am a program analyst, providing support to folks within the NNSA.
Q: It’s not easy breaking into a new field. What are some challenges you faced as you started your career as a contractor working in the NNSA, and how did you overcome them?
A: The biggest challenge I have faced thus far has been the learning curve associated with my position. However, I approached the content as if I were taking classes at school. This strategy has enabled me to grasp the material and apply it to projects I’m tasked with.
Q: What inspired you to become a mentor at UMGC?
A: My father was a professor of dentistry at the University of Florida, and the smartest man I knew. He also chose to serve as a mentor to his students. In February 2020, he passed away after a very short battle with pancreatic cancer. After his passing, we heard from countless students of his about the impact and value his mentorship had on them and their careers. I mentor others in memory of my father, and I think of him whenever I receive a message from a student.
[Also,] while I was in school, I sought mentors out for guidance. By mentoring, I hope to pay it forward and help others find footing on their path.
Q: What’s the best advice you have heard from your own mentors along the way?
A: Advice I’ve received that still resonates with me today is to embrace the discomfort – it’s inevitable. But you will always come out stronger on the other side of it.
National Institute of Health professional Nicole Rohloff ‘23 reveals the ups and downs of her career and the best advice she ever received from a mentor
Information Technology Specialist at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
Q: What is the biggest challenge you have faced as you tried to progress in your career, and how did you overcome it?
A: I was offered a job promotion that required a relocation. Not long after starting the job, I knew it wasn't a career fit. The work environment was toxic, and I didn't have top-down support to grow my program. It was a dead-end situation, so I left shortly thereafter and found another job.
Unfortunately, that wasn't my landing place either. I really felt like I was striking out, so I took time to reevaluate my life. It was a difficult period that required much reflection, goal setting, and faith that things would work out. And they did. During that period, I applied to hundreds of jobs over the course of 6-8 months and finally landed my ideal position.
It was a serendipitous journey, and I believe it happened for a reason because it humbled and strengthened me at the same time. I'm more well-rounded because of the experience. The lesson for me was that adversity makes us stronger and prepares us for our next chapter.
Q: What is the best thing up-and-coming professionals in your field can do to jump-start their careers?
A: The job market is competitive, and starting out with little to no experience makes it challenging to find a good job straight out of college. Up-and-coming professionals must possess more than just a college education. People skills, assertiveness, a strong work ethic, excellent communication skills, and the ability to be flexible and adaptable are so important.
Q: What’s the best way to develop these skills?
A: Through on-the-job experience. Get as much experience as you can before you graduate. Be willing to work in positions that will give you diverse work experience. Try internships, volunteer opportunities and network as much as possible to get your foot in the door.
Also, surround yourself with successful, hardworking, positive people. Cut out the things in your life that are derailing you.
Q: Why should professionals seek out a mentor?
A: Having a support network is so important. It helps to have someone to talk to and seek advice from. There will be days when you want to give up. Having the right support system will help keep you on track when the going gets tough.
Q: What inspires you to mentor others, and what is the most satisfying part of being a mentor?
A: I'm inspired to mentor others because I am fortunate to have amazing mentors in my life that changed it for the better. I want to pay it forward and do the same for others. When someone tells me I've really helped them in some way, it's satisfying to know I've made a difference.
Q: What piece of advice from a mentor have you received that resonates with you to this day?
A: Never give up. Do not stop. Keep going.
Interested in being—or finding—a mentor?
Learn more about the UMGC Community Connect mentoring program by logging into CareerQuest. Need an account? No worries, visit CareerQuest and follow the steps to create one and start accessing career resources today.