I am Cassie, and I have been a part of the nuclear industry for over 15 years. I have been married for 4 years (to my biggest cheerleader). What he would want you to know about me is, “she cherishes the feeling of being helpful and producing a positive outcome for others.” My hobbies are asking questions (that’s a hobby, right?), giving high fives, and I enjoy adventuring to different places to try fabulous foods that I am not willing to cook at home! The thing I enjoy most about waking up every day, whether it be a workday or not, people. Everyone is on their own journey, and sometimes I get the pleasure of crossing paths or “traveling” with them for a season.
Why did I want to become a mentee in the GROW program? Did you wake up knowing you wanted to be in the nuclear industry? I didn’t! As a matter of fact, I did not know the nuclear industry existed. Okay, I have another question. Once you were in the industry, did your career path hit you like a ton of bricks, and did you know exactly where you were going? Me neither!
Being a mentee in the 2023-2024 GROW program, through U.S. WIN, opened my eyes and mind. It gave me avenues to meet individuals I may have never had the opportunity to meet. Through virtual coffee chats, and the first in-person general session (photo at bottom) that was held in May 2024, I grew my nuclear network even more. My mentor was in a different time zone and worked for a company different than mine, which allowed me to be more transparent. During our meetings, I was more apt to share freely and ask for support on how to address distractions as I journey through my career.
I am going to share, in my own words, one of the messages that impacted me greatly at the May GROW general session. If you are considering being a mentor, think about the hours you put in at work in a month. To put this in perspective, in general each month we work four weeks and forty hours each week. That equals 160 hours. One half of one of those hours could be shared with a mentee. Those thirty minutes to listen, provide suggestions, give guidance, plant a seed or two; not even 1% of your time out of the hours you work in a month is required to help someone navigate their journey.
Make a choice, become a mentor or mentee, plant some seeds, watch them GROW! I am personally thankful for this opportunity through U.S. WIN and encourage you to consider enriching yourself through the GROW program.
