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OPINION
M entoring is one of the most important things we can do to build individuals and companies. Throughout my career, I have had and continue to have mentors who have helped guide me in my professional and personal journey. As a young engineer starting at SCS Engineers, I was fortunate to be mentored by one of the firm’s founders, Tom Conrad. Mentoring the next generation of professionals requires care and dedication – and it will have a profound impact on your people and firm. The transformative power of mentoring
David Hostetter, PE, LEED AP, CEM
In my first year at SCS, I spent a portion of every day sitting with Tom, learning everything I could from him. It wasn’t always easy to receive his feedback, but I still have a paper box filled with his handwritten red ink corrections of dozens of reports that serve as a reminder that there is always room to improve. Tom always shot straight with me. If I did a good job, I’d know it. If I needed to improve, not only would he tell me, he’d show me how. Beyond mentoring me professionally, he also took the time to invest in my personal life. When my wife and I moved to Reston, Virginia, to take the job with SCS, we unfortunately moved into a bad rental situation. When Tom discovered this, he suggested we temporarily move into his home. The short- and long-term benefits of this type of consideration, while hard to measure, are invaluable.
As I look back on the beginning of my career at SCS, several things strike me about my mentoring experience: 1. The amount of time and effort Tom poured into me and the value of that time and effort. Tom spent hundreds of hours working with me – that’s a lot of time and effort to put into any one project, let alone a human development one. 2. Tom took the time to care, really care, about me as an individual. Not just Dave the SCSer, or Dave the Engineer, but Dave the person. How many of you would not only consider but genuinely offer to open your home to someone you were just starting to get to know? His offer to us was a true measure of Tom’s quality.
See DAVID HOSTETTER, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 13, 2024, ISSUE 1537
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