Concordia Magazine

In the Mentoring Business

By Danielle Hance

Lana Siewert-Olson ‘86 didn’t know any other women in business when she entered the working world. She took the first job offered to her and began a solo climb on the ladder of success.

“I didn’t have a mentor in college. It would have been nice to have someone to call and bounce questions off who had been there and done that,” she says. “There were not as many women in business back then, not as many role models.”

Now she is president of Ideal Printers in St. Paul, Minn., where she works alongside her sister, Joan Siewert-Cardona ’87. The sisters were named Women Business Owners of the Year by the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and their company was named one of the Top 100 Workplaces by the Star Tribune in 2011.

Siewert-Olson is sharing her success. When Concordia asked her to join a Twin Cities women’s mentoring group, she was ready and willing. 

“I want these girls to have confidence and realize that there isn’t a glass ceiling that they have to worry about,” she says. “There is nothing that they can’t do.”

In Fargo-Moorhead, Christie Gleason ’14, Loretto, Minn., and her mentor, Kristie (Ehlers) Huber ’98, meet over coffee at least three times a month for what Gleason describes as “deep life chats.”

Huber is resource development director for the United Way of Cass-Clay, a leading nonprofit agency, which Gleason says is a perfect match for her.

“I enjoy connecting with people and engaging with a community,” says Gleason. “My passion is to work for a nonprofit, so I’m finding out what it’s like from someone who truly knows.”

Just as Huber gained valuable advice from a mentor, she enjoys helping Gleason develop her skills and self-confidence.

“I’m so passionate about mentorships because I’m a product of good mentoring myself,” says Huber. “For me, it’s all about paying it forward, and from my first meeting with Christie, I knew this was the right program for her. Christie will do awesome things.”

With Huber’s influence and help, Gleason will fulfill an ambition to serve others by interning this summer at the United Way in St. Cloud, Minn.

Siewert-Olson has mentored two recent Concordia students by communicating with them via email or telephone. The first was Mary Kate Sershen ’12, who once called her in the middle of a class. Sershen was doing a group project and had 30 minutes to come up with a proposal. Siewert-Olson was happy to offer on-the-spot advice.

Sershen also received advice on what to put on her résumé and how to ask key questions in an interview. As a result, she landed her first job last spring at Thrivent Financial in Sioux Falls, S.D., without a hitch.

Siewert-Olson now mentors Regan Whitney ’14, Breckenridge, Minn., who is the editor of The Concordian campus newspaper and a business major with a marketing concentration.

“Before my mentorship, I didn’t have any solid contacts in the business world,” says Whitney. “Now I have someone to turn to that I know cares about helping me. She’s willing to take time out of her busy day to answer my emails or set up appointments for me with her own contacts.”

When Whitney wanted to see what happens inside a marketing department, Siewert-Olson connected her with one of her business clients. Whitney gained insight after meeting with the brand manager and some of the writers and designers of promotional materials. 

More importantly, Whitney learned the value of networking and started thinking about her future in ways she hadn’t imagined before.

“Mentorship has really opened my eyes for how I can network with alumni and business professionals,” she says.  “I now feel comfortable asking almost anyone I meet about their career and how they got started.”

In addition to mentorships arranged by the Alumni Relations Office, the Offutt School of Business has matched 25 students with 25 local businesspeople who attended Concordia. Plus, businesswomen in the Twin Cities have mentored 35 young women during the past two years.

The benefits of mentoring aren’t just for the student. Mentors grow from the experience, too. Siewert-Olson says mentoring has reconnected her to what is happening on campus.

“I really like seeing what students are learning,” she says. “I love getting to know them. I hope to stay in touch with my mentees as they progress in their careers. Because of this experience, I realize how important mentoring is and how important it is for students to know people in business.” 


Sheldon Green contributed to this story.

Photo: Sheldon Green

Once a mentee herself, Kristie (Ehlers) Huber ’98 (right) has developed a close friendship with Christie Gleason ’14 through the mentorship program.

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