September 2020
There are many valuable things you learn in a classroom, and then there are things you learn from a high-profile business leader and mentor like Richard Nesbitt, MBA ‘85.
“Richard gave me the kinds of insights I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. How the C-suite works. How an executive thinks and acts and engages with people. This was one of the highlights of my program and a phenomenal experience,” says mentee Laura Garzon, MFin ’20.
Garzon and a handful of other Rotman students are the latest to benefit from the Rotman Financial Services Mentorship Program. Created in 2014, the program has been highly successful at enhancing the student experience and delivering transformational learning to a few select MBA and MFin students.
Nesbitt and his spouse, Lucy Lawlor, BEd ’93, are now bringing that crucial catalyst of alumni mentorship to many more students across Rotman graduate programs by establishing the Rotman LEADS Program: Leadership, Exploration, Advice, Development and Success with a significant gift.
“At a time when the student experience has changed quite dramatically because of the pandemic, I was approached by the School about the need to expand the alumni mentorship program,” says Nesbitt, an adjunct professor at Rotman and recipient of the 2019 Rotman Lifetime Achievement Award.
“So we’ll be growing the program from four or five mentors today to 15 by September, and hopefully 30 a year from now. If each mentor has ten students, mentoring would be available to as many as 300 students,” adds Nesbitt.
"There are some individuals who are isolated and need the support, and the guidance and experience of mentors can be a safety net for them."
Lucy Lawlor
“Richard and Lucy’s extraordinary generosity and commitment to Rotman continue to inspire me,” says Interim Dean Kenneth S. Corts. “By investing in mentorship with the Rotman LEADS program, they are helping the School deliver the kind of experiential learning and networking opportunities that will enable our students to start applying their education and skills right away, especially in a post-COVID world.”
Rotman LEADS will connect students to industry leaders in the GTA, strengthening the School’s relationship to Bay Street, the entrepreneurial community and other industries. The program will be offered virtually, giving both mentors and students more options to fit this type of accelerated student support and industry engagement into their schedules.
“[The mentorship program] was one of the highlights of my program and a phenomenal experience.”
Laura Garzon, MFin ’20
The program also has other advantages, says Lawlor:
“There are some individuals who are isolated and need the support, and the guidance and experience of mentors can be a safety net for them. It’s a vital link, enabling them to continue academically but also helping them on a personal level.”
As Nesbitt’s latest mentee, Colombian-born Garzon is enthusiastic about the benefits of a mentorship program like LEADS.
“Where I come from, mentorship is casual and informal. People sometimes take others under their wing; they become their ahijados. I prefer the Rotman approach because I like structure. There’s less uncertainty, and I appreciate having milestones. My mentorship experience was even better than I expected. I met Rotman students from other programs and I learned so much from Richard. It would be silly not to make the most of an amazing opportunity like this program.”
By Alain Latour