Shana explains: “I joined because I wanted a mentor who understood the industry and had already gone through the career steps I’m about to take. Elevate gave me the chance to connect with experienced chartered engineers from across the world, which felt like an incredible opportunity,” she explains.
By coincidence, her assigned mentor turned out to be an ex-colleague working in the same building. “It was really interesting — we already knew each other, so re-establishing that relationship in a different light made the transition into mentoring much easier. Having someone close by meant we could just grab a coffee under our offices, which made meetings really straightforward,” Shana says.
The mentoring has been especially valuable in navigating day-to-day workplace challenges. “I often ask my mentor for guidance on ongoing conversations with colleagues or soft skills I’m developing at work. Having someone objective to bounce ideas off has been fantastic. The honesty and directness of his advice has also been refreshing — he doesn’t sugarcoat things, and that’s helped me reflect on the kind of engineer I want to be,” she shares.