BREMERTON, Wash. –
Ryan Cozza, Reactor Servicing Training Organization branch head, Code 2370.1, Nuclear Refueling Engineering Division, began working at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in March 2019. Starting off as a Ship Refueling Tech candidate, Cozza was determined to become a certified Ship Refueling Expert.
That determination eventually led Cozza to investigate the shipyard’s mentorship program in search of a more effective way to advance his career. Cozza also found a mentor who helped him turn his desire to do more into an opportunity that has propelled his career forward.
After his original mentor moved away, and his responsibilities changed, Cozza joined the NAVSEA Next Gen mentorship program. He also met his current mentor, Scott Gordon, division head, Code 2310, Reactor Engineering Division, through the program.
“Scott was important in giving me information, providing insight and helping me find opportunities,” Cozza said. “Having mentors has played a huge part in helping me get the position I’m in now. I didn’t feel I was ready, but they pushed me and convinced me to try.”
It's a decision he's glad he made. It also led Cozza to volunteer as a mentor himself.
National Mentoring Month
The month of January was proclaimed National Mentoring Month in 2002. Conceived by The Harvard School of Public Health and The National Mentoring Partnership, known as MENTOR, the annual observance celebrates the positive impact that mentors have on the lives of individuals.
In addition, it aims to raise awareness about the importance of mentoring and to recruit volunteers to serve as mentors.
Then-President Joe Biden acknowledged the importance of mentors and their effect on the American workforce in his 2024 Proclamation on National Mentoring Month.
“My Administration recognizes the value of mentorship in the workplace, and Registered Apprenticeships not only help provide it, they also produce some of the best workers in the world,” wrote Biden.
In that spirit, National Mentoring Month is part of the Department of Defense’s overall strategy to develop and sustain an engaged, innovative and productive workforce.
With that in mind, Cece Norgaard, PSNS & IMF Mentoring Program manager, Code 1182, Workforce Development, helped facilitate two recent lunch-time mentoring workshops to assist shipyard workers by connecting them to professional development resources, and potential mentors.
Any shipyard employee interested in finding or becoming a professional mentor can begin their journey through the Command Mentoring Program. Interested workers can register through WayPoints to become a mentor, or to find a mentor.
Some important guidelines to consider:
A mentor’s and mentee’s positions should be within two levels of one another.
A mentee can have no more than two mentors at one time.
The mentoring partners meet regularly; typically, two hours per month.
The cumulative effect of these meetings will hopefully give the mentee insights and knowledge as they advance in their careers.
In addition, interested employees are also encouraged to visit the PSNS & IMF Mentoring Program SharePoint site for additional information. The site has resources that help give mentors and mentees information on guidelines, expectations, and tools to help connect mentees with the correct mentor and examples of goals.
To learn more, visit flankspeed.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/Code1182Team/SitePages/ Mentoring-Program.aspx for information on the PSNS & IMF Mentoring Program.
“It’s important to continually have the conversation,” Norgaard said. “Helping others and sharing should be a part of our work lives. Being a team player is important. I feel the work here gets done together.”