The AIA Marianas Bridging the Gap Mentorship Program is a pilot program and long-term initiative to further support the growth and development of the architectural community. Spearheaded by Guam’s newest architect, Elmer Prudente Jr. and funded through the AIA College of Fellows Grant, the mentorship program connects seasoned architects with emerging professionals pursing their architectural license in order to facilitate professional and leadership development.

The program objectives are:

The program launched on March 28th with a pairing session in order to introduce the mentors and mentees and discuss different areas that they would like guidance on, where each of the mentees are in their career path, and work to determine the pairings that would garner the best results. Each pair then held their own meetings and discussions on their own, giving mentees an opportunity to have open discussions with their more experienced colleagues.

The program concluded with a Graduation Lunch, bringing all of the mentors and mentees together. Everyone was able to share their experience of the program, sharing stories of how they were able to relate to their mentors. Marisol and Inna were able to resonate with the difficulty of being a mom to young kids while also in the process of taking their ARE’s. Similarly, Francis and Mateo both became new dads while the program was going on, and so they were able to relate to having to balance work and their home life. Mentors and Mentees were presented with certificates of completion with many of them expressing the desire to keep the communication going longa after the program has completed.

“I was grateful to be able to speak freely and get some insider knowledge from an individual whom I did not work for. I believe it’s important to have these types of conversations with peers and other mentors in order to understand how firms outside of your own operate and the many styles in which offices and projects are run.”

– Dominic Lizama