10 and 15-year Foster mentors make a world of difference

Mentorship makes the difference. We live by those words. Foster owes an incredible debt of gratitude to our mentors, and we’d like to extend that gratitude our mentors celebrating 10 and 15 years participating in the University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business Mentorship Program!

Read on for words of thanks and gratitude expressed to us from our Foster MBAs on their mentor experiences through the years…and an extra special thank you to our 15-year anniversary mentors, Tim Evenson, Dennis Kaill, and Mike Mondello.

Dennis Kail
“[Dennis] is a caring and encouraging advisor. His honest stories about his career path have inspired me to pursue new and interesting opportunities in graduate school.” – Khang To, Evening MBA, Class of 2022

Mike Mondello
“Thank you [Mike] for all your help with Foster over the years. Myself, Decatur and Ben all appreciated the time you took out of your schedule to walk us through all of the interesting ideas you’re implementing at SeaBear. Who needs to take a photo of people throwing fish when you can hold one yourself?!” – Simon Crean, Full-Time MBA, Class of 2021

Tim Evenson
“This experience has helped me get connected to a mentor that I can continue the relationship with beyond the duration of this program and I am very grateful to be connected to Tim.” – MBA from the Class of 2019.

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10 years with the Mentor Program are Brooks Gekler, Rich Fabian, Jeremy Lenz, and Nick Dykstra. Their mentees wrote to us to express their appreciation of their mentors and we selected the following excerpts as examples of their dedication and commitment over the years…

Brooks Gekler
“Brooks is a thoughtful, empathetic, and enthusiastic mentor. He took the time to get to know me personally, beyond my resume and job applications. He was eager to share his extensive experience and to connect me to colleagues who could share theirs as well. He is a truly generous mentor and I am grateful for his advice and his compassion.” – Jackie Bach, Full-Time MBA, Class of 2020

Rich Fabian
“Every interaction I’ve had with Rich has inspired me to be more daring with the projects that I ask for at work and what kinds of roles I envision for myself going forward. He is incredibly authentic and generous with the time that he offers to spend discussing potential career routes and personal development goals.” – Breana Murphy, Evening MBA, Class of 2022

Jeremy Lenz
“Jeremy does an incredible job of giving his mentees a look into his career journey. Sharing not only what he’s learned along the way but why he made some of the decisions that got him to where he is now, added immense value to our time with him.” – Dylan Moncrieff, Full-Time MBA, Class of 2021

Nick Dykstra
“When we met with Nick, he shared insightful perspectives, book recommendations, a history of his career and the actions/reactions that shaped it. Among the wealth of knowledge shared, one quote he provided is very apropos given the pandemic and current state of the world; ‘Accept the inevitability of the unpredictable — have a strategy if you must, but be optimistic and improvisational.’” – Max Navas, Evening MBA, Class of 2022

Thank you to all our anniversary mentors for the collective wisdom that you have shared with our MBA students over the years. The UW Foster community is extremely grateful.