When first approached by a former MCLP participant and the vice president of her work site, Tara Carman didn’t understand why an industrial cleaner at a power station would make a good fit for a professional leadership development program. Perhaps they could foresee her future rise to a senior engineering analyst just a few years down the road, or perhaps they simply saw in her a spark of potential that, if given the chance to develop, could lead to remarkable accomplishments.
But Tara, who vividly remembers her trepidation during the first few learning events, didn’t see it that way. “Once I started the program, I realized that it was everything that I didn’t like: public speaking, group projects, telling a story about yourself, speaking about real life issues with others and being around people that were your total opposite.
“I really had no idea what I had gotten myself into.”
As time passed, Tara began to form strong connections with her classmates, and her leadership journey didn’t seem nearly as daunting. Throughout those nine months, she also continued to develop a genuine respect for others and their opinions, a skill which in turn earned her respect as a leader.
Not even two months after her graduation, opportunity came knocking at Tara’s door when her manager left the company. From that point on, Tara continued climbing the company ladder at a dizzying pace, receiving promotion after promotion until attaining her current position as Senior Staff Engineering Analyst.
Looking back at her growth, both within her company and within herself, Tara knows that MCLP made everything possible.
“MCLP has given me all of the soft skills to build relationships with my fellow co-workers while also leading projects and groups. To this day, I cannot believe how far I have come. It wasn’t quick or easy, but was definitely worth the wait.”
Since graduating from the program in 2014, Tara has committed to #PassItForward to future participants by making a monthly gift to MCLP. As the #PassItForwardMCLP day of giving approaches, Tara invites you to join her in making a gift at bn-mclp.org/give on October 23.