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Mentorship Program Spotlight with Keelin Cox and Katie Marcell

This is the first of three articles featuring a mentor and protégé who took part in the 2020-2021 Mentorship Program sponsored by SMPS Orange County through the Professional Development Committee.

Protégé Katie Marcell is a marketing coordinator with Hensel Phelps and current SMPS OC social media chair.

Mentor Keelin Cox is a senior marketing specialist with Stantec, past SMPS OC president, and creator and host of the very popular AEC Marketeer podcast.

Interested in mentorship? Click here for more information and an application! 

SMPS OC: What were you originally looking for when you signed up to be a protégé?

Katie: I was mainly curious about two things – the direction of potential growth opportunities in marketing departments across various firms in the industry and their marketing processes, whether they be related to internal or external marketing. I wanted to learn about processes other firms were using that may have been more efficient, streamlined, and even fun compared to the processes I was following.

What would you say was the most valuable part of your mentorship experience?

Katie: The most valuable thing I have learned throughout this relationship is the importance of self-marketing. For me to be proud and successful in my job, I learned I have to know my worth and be able to back it up. Keelin provided me with tools beyond an up-to-date resume to turn my work experiences into visual representations that can serve as proof of accomplishments.

What surprised you most about the mentor-protégé program?

Katie: I came into this program with no agenda or game plan, so I was surprised to see other protégés with clear ideas of what they wanted to get out of their mentor-protégé relationship from the start. While that intimidated me at first, Keelin asked all the right questions to get me to really think about my current work situation and what I wanted that to evolve into in the future.

Keelin: To Katie’s point, I do think there’s a bit of a misconception that if you want to be a protégé or have a mentor, you need to know exactly what you want out of the relationship. I don’t think that has to be true all the time. I’m so proud Katie took the leap of faith into this mentorship program and was able to say, “I don’t know what I don’t know”. That’s a huge strength in my opinion and I hope it inspires more marketers who are new to this industry to sign up for mentorship programs even if they aren’t sure what their own end goal is.

Were you part of the mentorship program as a protégé?

Keelin: I wasn’t! I started the mentorship program when I was president of our chapter in 2018 because I knew there was a need and knew the value of mentorship through my own informal mentorships. I talk about Sue Pender (a 35-year industry veteran and founding member of SMPS OC) all the time and she really was my mentor. Sue helped me navigate my career in this industry when I didn’t know what direction to go in or what my options were. Everyone needs a Sue and I hope this program continues to make those connections for other marketers.

From creating the mentorship program to now being a part of it, has it met your expectations or what you thought it might be like?

Keelin: It has completely exceeded my expectations. I always mean it when I tell people who are new to this industry to reach out if they have any questions, and some do, but a lot don’t. I think this formal mentor-protégé relationship has allowed me to focus all my energy on one person who is equally as committed to learning as I am. Also, it’s really nice to form a relationship with someone this way. I have loved getting to know Katie and seeing her grow in her career. I’ve also learned a lot from her - that’s probably my favorite thing about this whole process. The learning goes both ways, we’ve both come out better, smarter professionals.