Darleny is a seasoned Scrum Master supporting the Fidelity Institutional Technology Group. She is passionate about her day job and has loved being a Scrum Master at Fidelity for the past 4 years. Another thing Darleny is passionate about: The college mentorship program she started within Aspire, one of Fidelity’s Employee Resource Groups that focuses on the professional and personal experiences of Latinx and Black Fidelity associates. Aspire advances the professional development of their members by building bridges that lead to developing sustainable skills, productive networks, and the motivation to maximize the value they can deliver to Fidelity, our customers, and the community.
In true Scrum Master fashion, Darleny noticed that the “methodology” of the mentorship program she created already existed, but someone needed to come in and reinvent the wheel. That is exactly what she did. Darleny elaborates, “Being a scrum master, you need to have the ability to look at things in different ways. I noticed that there were efforts within Aspire that championed interns, promoted career growth, and had a plethora of mentors available – but a specific program that connected Latinx and Black college students with a dedicated mentor to shadow their jobs in tech, did not exist”. To get the program up and running, Darleny connected with her Aspire chapter co-leader, Dominique, and made her vision for this program into a reality. Darleny also credits the success of the program due to the hard work and collaboration efforts with her Community Outreach Boston team, Ed and Sandrine.
Being a scrum master, you need to have the ability to look at things in different ways. I noticed that there were efforts within Aspire that championed interns, promoted career growth, and had a plethora of mentors available – but a specific program that connected Latinx and Black college students with a dedicated mentor to shadow their jobs in tech, did not exist
So, what exactly does the mentorship program entail? It’s a program for college students to make connections, gain experiences, and learn from the lenses of Fidelity associate’s expertise. Throughout the course of their school year, the mentees connect through 5 sessions with their mentors. Mentors are part of the Aspire community and have a variety of tech knowledge and backgrounds. Depending on what works best for the pair, the mentee will meet up to shadow and observe their mentor’s jobs in real-time, whether that is in person at a Fidelity office or virtually from home. The mentees will have plenty of opportunities to get to know their mentors, choose discussion topics that most interest them and learn in a way that works best for one another.
The mentorship program has three areas of focus:
- Network. Learn the culture. Gain soft-skills and job shadow. By shadowing, the mentee explores an understanding of their mentor’s role. Mentors provide guidance, observe functions and duties of a particular career.
- Professional development. Upskill and gain new tech-skills.
- Stay connected. Find the job or project you most desire. What work makes you passionate? Demonstrate your skills and stay in touch with the people you made connections with along the way.
The program piloted for the first time this year with a group of 5 students from the Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology – the same university that Darleny attended herself. Darleny started at Fidelity in 2018 as an intern where she then learned about Fidelity’s LEAP* program. After graduating college, Darleny was offered to join the LEAP program which eventually led her to transition to a full-time job in tech as a Scrum Master in Boston, MA. Once settled into the role, Darleny wanted to share her knowledge and experiences to become a leader for others; hence her decision to take on a leadership role within Aspire. In the future, Darleny has plans on expanding this well received program to other local universities.
Darleny is proud of the work she and her fellow Aspire members are doing, “We can always learn from one another. If you thought you wanted to be a history teacher, there’s nothing stopping you from changing paths and wanting to become a Scrum Master. Knowledge is power, especially when you share with others. It’s important to spread the wealth as it creates a sense of belonging. I hope the work we are doing truly empowers others to make their own decisions and encourages them to be better for themselves”.
* The Fidelity LEAP program is designed for recent or upcoming college grads with a technical education. The program is designed to reinforce a culture of continuous development and growth mindset through immersive, high-impact learning experiences.
