Former Executive Committee Member Rachel Moss, ’96 industrial and systems engineering, helped start the 100+ Women Strong mentoring program in 2012 and continues to be one of its most ardent advocates. But to say she jumps into each mentorship with both feet wouldn’t really be accurate.
One time she went head first.
“Yeah, we actually all three went skydiving together,” says Moss, who has spent much of her career in the defense and aerospace industries. “We were talking about facing our fears during one of our meetings.”
“We” is Moss, Katie Brown, ’17 polymer engineering, and Bethany Bittinger, ’16 aerospace engineering. Moss, a founding member of 100+ Women Strong, has been attached to the pair since the program began, offering advice on everything from resumes to relationships… and when to pull the parachute.
“I went first, I had to be the example,” she says. “One of them said they wanted to go skydiving so we just went out and got a Groupon and went skydiving.”
Brown remembers the beginning of the story a little differently.
“It was Rachel’s idea,” she says, laughing. “She had this crazy idea that she, me and Bethany could all go skydiving together, which is something I had never done. We all decided to go for it and it was an incredible day.”
Regardless of who first suggested jumping out of an airplane at 10,000 feet, Brown says the experience is a perfect example of the support and commitment that has made her relationship with Moss invaluable in ways she never expected.
“I definitely thought it was going to be a lot more formal,” she says. “I think I anticipated it being more about professional development opportunities, but it ended up being a much deeper relationship.”
Judging by the invitation Moss recently received to Bittinger’s wedding, her other former mentee would likely say the same.
“Rachel made herself available to us and she always encouraged me, especially around finals time,” Brown says. “She was especially mindful that I was working through the curriculum, and she was checking in on me to see if I was staying connected with my professors.”
When Brown considered switching to another major, a reassuring Moss encouraged her to stick it out. Brown did. And she excelled. She’s currently earning a doctorate in bioengineering and biomedical engineering at Rice University.
“Rachel was just an incredible resource for me, and she still is,” Brown says.
But the skydiving may remain a one time thing.
“I don’t want anyone thinking about signing up (for mentoring) to think that they have to be pushed out of a plane,” Moss says with a laugh. “That may be a case of extreme mentoring. But if anything went wrong, I was going to blame them. Hey, it was their idea!”
When it comes to long-term relationships formed at Auburn, 100+ Women Strong Executive Committee co-chair Olivia Owen, ’77 civil engineering, is kind of next level.
“I met my husband my first night of school my freshman year,” the 2018 State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame inductee says. “It was a group date between his dorm and my dorm. About five women showed up, and 20 guys. I looked at the guys, pointed to him, and told my friend ‘leave that one alone, he’s mine.’ Three years later we were married.”
Nearly 40 years later, a few years after retiring as the corporate vice president for safety, security, health, and environment for ExxonMobil, she made another instant Auburn connection at a group event, one that also seems well-positioned to last a lifetime.
“We just hit it off,” Owen says. “It was in 2014 and it was the first time we’d had a 100+ Women Strong conference in Auburn. I was giving a presentation, and at the end, there was a student who asked several good questions and then wanted to talk.”
And then wanted a mentor.
“I was just so impressed with Olivia’s talk,” says Meha Jha, ’14 chemical engineering. “She’s had a really diverse career, and she’s a wife, a mother. She gives back to Auburn. There was just a lot to emulate. I wanted to learn from her.”
She got her wish.
Jha says Owen’s experience and insight has been invaluable in helping her navigate the early stages of her career with Emerson, where she currently works as a refining industry marketing manager.
“It’s really important to have someone outside of your company that’s not biased and can give you honest opinions,” Jha says. “At work, a mentor is sometimes limited to just talking about your company or the specific industry you’re in.”
Though Jha graduated half a decade ago, the pair’s relationship is stronger than ever. The two still talk on the phone several times a year, frequently for an hour or more at a time.
“What’s kept me coming back to Olivia during these five years is that she’s someone I can go to on a personal level,” Jha says. “It’s important to have someone you can be yourself with about everything you’re going through. We don’t just talk work. We talk about relationships, health. We’re just super-open. I view her as a friend almost as much as I view her as a mentor.”
The feeling, Owen says, is mutual.
“I feel like Meha could be my daughter,” Owen says, then laughs. “Of course, she could probably be my granddaughter. But our relationship has developed into something meaningful beyond just ‘mentor and mentee.’ We’re friends. Hopefully I’ve taught her a lot, but she’s taught me a lot, too.”