News Detail

ACI Mentorships Leave Lasting Impressions

9/3/2024

Thank you to current and former ACI Committee Chairs Anne, Sean, Stephanie, Rachel, Jan, Ivan, Farshad, Peter, Gregory, Rudolph, Nestor, Samuel, Benoit, Ganesh, Garrett, Ying, Jeffery, David, Maria, Thomas, Mi-Geum, Amir, Andrew, Chuck, and Scott! When you invited the ACI Foundation’s 2023 Fellowship and Scholarship recipients to attend your committee meetings at the ACI Concrete Convention in Boston, MA, USA, you welcomed the next generation of ACI volunteers and, likely, the future leaders of our concrete industry.

In my first memo, I wrote about the warm, personal welcome I was fortunate to receive at my first ACI technical committee meeting long ago. Back then, mentoring was not a buzzword, and ACI did not have any mentoring programs. But now we do!

ACI offers opportunities for young members to attend the Emerging Leaders Alliance (ELA) Conference, a partnership among leading engineering and science-based organizations that provides high-quality leadership training. The ELA hosts an interdisciplinary Leadership Conference, providing advanced leadership training in topics such as management, personal branding, social styles, problem-solving, presentation skills, and global diversity.

ACI also invites first-time convention attendees to a continental breakfast and brief orientation session for their first convention week. Attendees have the opportunity to meet other first-time convention attendees, connect with staff and experienced members, including officers, and learn about all the ACI Concrete Convention has to offer. For more information about both ACI activities, contact Kanette.Worlds@concrete.org.

The ACI Foundation has a formal mentorship program for the students to whom the Foundation awards fellowships as part of its annual scholarship and fellowship program for high-potential students in concrete-related studies. The ACI Foundation recruits volunteer mentors and matches mentors and mentees based on their interests and experience, geographic proximity, and other factors through an in-depth process, with the Foundation serving as an ongoing point of contact. Each mentor makes a 1-year commitment, which includes an in-person meeting, if possible, ideally at the fall ACI Concrete Convention, and a recommended five virtual meetings annually, depending on the needs and interests of the pair and the mentoring dynamics. For more about the ACI Foundation mentoring program, see the October 2020 issue of Concrete International or contact Chandice Moore at chandice.moore@acifoundation.org.

It seems to me that mentoring in ACI may be best accomplished in and by our chapters—naturally and organically. Chapter meetings usually involve many young members and guests, including those just starting out. The meetings are convenient because they are local. They are relatively inexpensive, with employers often willing to foot the bill. In addition to interacting with their peers, young members also have the opportunity to rub shoulders with the old hands and wise heads in the local market, building relationships that augment those generated in project teams—which brings up a last point.

Yes, mentoring sometimes needs a nonwork relationship, but it also is true that nothing brings people together faster or more powerfully than working together as part of a team. So, my dear fellow volunteers, please welcome and encourage young members at every opportunity—especially in your committees, subcommittees, task groups, and sessions. Give them an assignment. Everyone will benefit!

Michael J. Paul