Smoke Signals 5
MAY 1,2008
Mentorship program helps Tribal members gain
work experience for future full-time employment
IOTP
Part 1 of 2
By Angela Sears
Special to Smoke Signals
During the last two years, 58
Tribal members graduated from
two- or four-year colleges. Of those
students, 14 received an associate's
degree and 44 received a bachelor's
degree.
Like most recent college graduates,
these Tribal members come out of
school eager to begin the next stage
in their lives and start searching for
a new and exciting career that fits in
with their field of study.
Unfortunately, many of these
Tribal college grads are learning
that a degree won't always get
them started in the career they
want without much needed work
experience.
In fact, many of these graduates
turn to the Tribe or Spirit Mountain
Casino, expecting to find the em
ployment they seek, only to learn
that they need more experience to
obtain a job.
For the last six years, Tribal
member Denise Harvey, Mentor
ship and Workforce Development
coordinator, has worked diligently
to solve this problem and create
valuable employment opportunities
for Tribal members.
Since the conception of the Men
torship Program in August 2002,
Harvey has helped six Tribal mem
bers successfully complete the pro
gram and begin their journey to a
better career.
The Tribe began the Mentorship
Program to provide its members with
an opportunity to gain valuable expe
rience working within a Tribal entity
while also allowing them to pursue
a higher education. The program is
designed for both management and
non-management opportunities,
which allows Tribal members at all
education levels an opportunity to
gain hands-on experience.
The program's goal is to develop
the Tribal community to its full
est potential by targeting specific
leadership opportunities for Tribal
members, and identifying candi
dates to assume a mentorship posi
tion within these areas.
"Overall, I would have to say the
program is a success," said 1 larvey.
"It provides Tribal members with
an opportunity to come in and learn
about the Tribal organization and
do some job exploration; to see what
they want to do.
"My goal is to ensure the mentees
have a successful rotation in the
departments they choose to work in
and have the opportunity to learn
as much as possible in a one-year
program."
As with any program, Harvey
said she feels there is always room
for growth and improvement. Ide
ally, she would like to see every
department within the Tribal or
ganization welcome the Mentor
ship Program and provide mentees
with an opportunity to gain work
experience.
She also would like the oppor
tunity to expand the program and
bring on more than two mentees
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Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal member Tyrell Soderberg writes in a log book while auditing slot
machines at Spirit Mountain Casino on Wednesday, April 23. Soderberg is
working as an audit intern with the Grand Ronde Gaming Commission in the
Audit Department through the Tribal Mentorship Program.
Tribal member Joe Loomls
per year.
"With the job requirements and
qualifications that we have here
at the Tribe, a lot of our college
graduates don't have the qualifica
tions to apply for positions because
they don't have the on-the-job ex
perience that the Tribe requires,"
Harvey said.
"The Mentorship Program is defi
nitely a way for them to gain some
of that required experience. If I was
able to enhance that for them, then
that's what I would like, to bring on
more mentees and give more people
opportunities."
Harvey recently started a new
round in the Mentorship Program
and has brought in two more Tribal
members, Joe Loomis and Tyrell
Soderberg, who are both excited
about working within the Tribe.
Harvey values this opportunity
to bring in young Tribnl members
and help them to achieve their
career goals.
"I think the most rewarding
thing for me, personally, is being
able to work with Tribnl members,
getting to know them and building
relationships with them," Harvey
said. "And I hope to make that ex
perience as positive as I can."
Loomis, 27, wants to learn more
about the Tribal organization while
gaining work experience and hav
ing the flexibility to pursue an
education.
Loomis, 2008-09 mentee, is in the
non-management track and work
ing in Tribal Information Systems.
He plans to attend Chemeketa
Community College in Salem to be
gin working toward an Associate of
Arts Oregon Transfer degree, and
would like to focus on environmen
tal science.
Loomis said he is excited about
the new doors the program has
opened for him and hopes it will
someday turn into a long-term
career.
"If it wasn't for the Mentorship
Program, I wouldn't have the op
portunity with telecommunications
that I have," Loomis said. That's
what I was hoping for when I ap
plied for this program, an oppor
tunity to get into a position that I
normally wouldn't be able to.
"Telecommunications is a very
small department, and they're kind
of close. They need help over there
and I fill that gap for them. They
have a plan for me, and it seems
like they're really welcoming me
in. ... So I'm excited about it, and I
think that it's a good place for me.
"I'm looking forward to working
with Denise because I've heard
good things about her. She's excited
about this program and I don't have
any doubt that she's going to make
sure I get everything possible out
of this program."
Soderberg, 25, said his position in
the Mentorship Program is the per
fect opportunity to lenrn what he
wants to do with his career, while
gaining practical experience, and
learning firsthand what the Tribe
is all about.
Soderberg, like many other col
lege students, focused his efforts
on his studies and didn't pursue
job experience through internships
while in college.
"I applied for a job with the Tribe
prior to this, but I didn't get it be
cause I was lacking actual experi
ence," said Soderberg.
Soderberg, 2008-09 mentee, is
in the management track and is
working with the Grand Ronde
Gaming Commission in the Audit
Department.
He is a University of Oregon
graduate with a bachelor's degree
in economics and a minor in busi
ness administration.
Soderberg believes this program
is what he needs to jump-start
his career, whether his future is
with the Tribe for years to come
or elsewhere.
"I think I found a great oppor
tunity with the Gaming Commis
sion," he said. "I didn't know Denise
might place me in gaming, but
when I learned she was going to, I
got excited right away.
"The mentorship is helping me to
explore a career that I didn't know
was available, or I just never really
thought of. I lopefully, if everything
goes right, I can be working in this
field for a long time to come. Hut if
not, I'm confident this experience
will help me to begin a long-term
career elsewhere."
(In the May 15 Smoke Signals:
Part 2: Former Tribal mentecs
take their separate roads to
success.)