STUDENT CENTER
Student-Mentor Match Profile:
Caise Rode, MSSA/CNM Candidate, and
David Simpson, Executive Director of Hospice of the Western Reserve
The following questions were answered by Caise Rode, an MSSA/CNM candidate with a concentration in health, regarding her experiences in the Mandel Center's Mentor program. Caise hopes to leverage into new program/facility development for pediatric oncology services. Caise wears many hats during her matriculation path, including acting, accounting consultation, writing and school administration. According to Caise, her most apt niche has been in volunteer endeavors with children and in hunger relief, which she continues to embrace through her current career direction.
Q: What goals or objectives did you set for yourself before you started with the mentoring program? How were these goals or objectives met during the process (or if they weren't met, why not)?
A: My goal at the start of the mentor program was to learn more about the infrastructure and business side of nonprofits. My goal was met and surpassed by my experiences with David Simpson and Hospice of the Western Reserve. David not only imparted to me his own impressions of the nonprofit industry, but invited me to attend several key manager meetings and an interactive all-day seminar on strategic business planning.
Q: What was the most important thing you learned from David and through this process in general?
A: The most important thing that I learned was that nonprofits are still businesses that carry the burden of any business in identifying competitors, allowing and urging growth, and networking within a community of businesses that share a similar mission.
Q: What did you enjoy most from this experience?
A: The most enjoyable aspect of the mentorship was being a 'fly on the wall' and watching how the textbook explanations of how success is remedied played out in a real nonprofit scenario.
Q: What was the most challenging part of this experience for you?
A: The most challenging part was trying to bridle my hunger for all the information I could absorb! David never made me feel like a hindrance and offered much to sate my interests!
Q: What did your meetings with David consist of?
A: As mentioned earlier, I attended one-on-one meetings with David and manager meetings, invited guest seminars, awards luncheon, new employee orientation and shadowed an intake employee.
Q: What skills or knowledge areas do you feel were further developed as a result of the mentoring program?
A: My comfort level with hierarchy and business practice in nonprofits was enhanced, as well as a much broader internal definition of nonprofit business and more knowledge on lean business practice as presented by John Kenagy, MD, MPA (a doctor and surgeon who has married his knowledge of medical institutions with theories on lean, efficient organization based on the phenomenon of disruptive technology).
Q: What advice would you give to students who are considering participating in the Mandel Center's Mentoring Program?
A: The first piece of advise I would offer is to be proactive with your mentor relationship. Some mentors may be very busy and would appreciate your updates as well as input as to what in their world would behoove your learning experience. Second, don't forget what you also have to offer to the mentor. It truly is a learning experience on both sides. Make your special abilities known and available to the mentor's nonprofit. Perhaps you can return their kind favor of time with a special event or project that resonates with your own experiences. Finally, be gratious for the time and dedication your mentor is giving you.
David Simpson
The following questions were answered by David Simpson, Executive Director of Hospice of the Western Reserve since 1985. David has been active in promoting quality end-of-life care by serving on the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's (NHPCO) Board of which he was a member from 1994 - 2000. He served as Board Chairman for two terms. David also served on the Ohio Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's Board and was president for two years. He has given numerous presentations on hospice and palliative care locally and nationally, as well as in Canada and Hong Kong. David has served as NHPCO's United States Representative to the Canadian Palliative Care Association, and also is a charter member of the Center to Advance Palliative Care's National Advisory Committee. David graduated from Ottawa University in Canada in 1966 and earned his master's degree from Kent State in 1971.
Q: Did this process make you realize anything about your career that you hadn't thought about before?
A: It made me keenly aware of the sunrise and sunset of careers. I have been working in the health and social service arena since 1970 and have much to look back upon. I am now looking ahead to what comes after my transition from this role in five or six years. Caise is looking ahead to what she will contribute during the next three to four decades.
Q: Was there anything specific that you ended up learning from Caise and through this process in general?
A: I am continually awed by her enthusiasm, energy and presence.
Q: What did you enjoy most about this experience?
A: I really appreciated interacting with Caise and exposing her to new concepts (transdisciplinary teams, disruptive innovation, Jim Collins' article "Good to Great and the Social Sectors"). She is an enjoyable person and a wonderful student.
Q: Was there anything that challenged you during this experience?
A: I think it went by too fast. I would like to have had more experiences. Scheduling may have been the most challenging aspect.
Q: How did you help Caise meet the goals and objectives that were set before you began this process?
A: I think by some of our conversation and reading material. But mostly by providing her with access to people inside our organization, as well as external resource people (i.e. Dr. John Kenagy of the Harvard Business School)
Q: When you envision yourself at a similar point in life as Caise is right now, what advice or guidance do you think would have been helpful to you?
A: The future comes faster than you can imagine. Don't wait too long to go for your dreams.
