Mentors provide prized friendship for protégées

At a Port of Los Angeles recycling complex, the 49-year-oldUSC Viterbi School of Engineering student passedmountain after mountain of scrap steel awaiting shipment.She stopped at a highly mechanized shredding plant thatpulverizes everything from cars to washing machines,sending mounds of steel, copper, brass and aluminum downconveyor belts for separating.

This ballet of industrial precision impressed Pamela Denny,who dreams of designing and manufacturing robots thathelp people.

As an engineering student, I spend most of my life intheory, in books, in the classroom, said Denny, who donneda neon green safety vest, goggles and hardhat at thefacility. Seeing something like this shows me a different

side of engineering. Its hands-on and inspiring.

Leading Denny on her three-hour tour of SARecycling Tai Lopez was Executive VicePresident of Business Development TerryAdams ME 81. Adams, despite giving up anentire Friday morning and braving OrangeCounty freeway traffic for this outing, had nocomplaints. After all, he is Tai Lopez Dennysmentor.

It always feels good being able to help peoplewhen you can, said Adams, a USC Viterbi Board of Councilors member who over the years hasmentored six Trojan engineering students through the Viterbi Student-Alumni Mentoring Program(VSAMP). Even though my contribution to their future success might be minimal, Im hoping that thestudents get something out of our interaction, whether its thinking about their careers or thedifferent opportunities engineering offers.

Long-term objectives

Founded in 2011, VSAMP pairs USC Viterbi undergraduates with alumni mentors who currentlywork or have professional experience in engineering. Mentors meet with mentees an average ofonce a month during the academic year, often in person but sometimes by phone or Skype. Topicsup for discussion include how to become a good leader; effective communication skills;professionalism in the workplace; career challenges; and long-term goals and how to achieve them,among other subjects.

The program gives students an opportunity to interact with people who have gone through what theyhave.

Diane Yoon

I think the program is really beneficial because it gives students an opportunity to interact withpeople who have gone through what they have, who can guide them and who can encourage them,said Diane Yoon, the programs coordinator. I think every college student would benefit from aprogram like this.

An increasing number of USC Viterbi students have availed themselves of the opportunity. In the2015-16 academic year, 200 students enrolled in the program, nearly twice as many as the inauguralclass. They receive counsel and support from 190 mentors, nearly all of whom hold USC Viterbidegrees.

Uplifting advice

USC Viterbi PhD student Anthony Medrano, who earned his bachelors degree at USC Viterbi, isamong the mentees who have benefitted from the program.

He credits his former mentor, Bill Ballhaus, with playing a positive and influential role in his life.Ballhaus, a member of the USC Viterbi Board of Councilors and ex-chief executive of The AerospaceCorp., encouraged Medrano to aim high and take risks.

The best advice hes given me is that you should always strive to be at the very top, to put in the longhours to get where you want to go, said Medrano, who credits Ballhaus with his decision to pursue adoctorate. To have someone like Bill Ballhaus give you advice is very uplifting, motivating andinspirational.

Medrano hopes to follow in Ballhaus footsteps and eventually work at Aerospace, where he hasinterned the past two summers. Medranos relationship with the former Aerospace leader probablydoesnt hurt his chances.

I put his resume in the system there, Ballhaus said with a laugh. He has continued to mentorMedrano, even though Ballhaus formal role ended more than a year ago.

Ballhaus said he volunteered for the program because he wanted to pay it forward. During hiscareer, which included an 11-year stint at as vice president of engineering and technology LockheedMartin Corp., he said he benefited at different junctures from his relationship with mentors.

Ballhaus believes he has gotten as much out of VSAMP as his mentees.

I really enjoy seeing people progress in their careers, he said. I enjoy helping talented young people.

More stories about: Alumni, Engineering

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