Tommy Kane, NBT Bank Commercial Banking Specialist (Submitted Photo)

In celebration of Mentorship Month throughout November, The Evening Sun will host a series of mentoring success stories twice each week from the Regional Mentoring Program at DCMO BOCES.

The program was funded by a federal Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant in November of 2022, administered by the Southern Tier 8 Regional Board. With help from Commerce Chenango and the Delaware and Otsego Chambers, the program connected 62 high school seniors, from 16 area school districts, with local mentors in the private and public sectors.

Tommy Kane

NBT Bank Commercial Banking Specialist

Tommy Kane, Commercial Banking Specialist at NBT Bank in Norwich, heard about the mentoring program at work and thought it sounded interesting, so he applied. He was disappointed when it looked like there wouldn’t be a student for him to mentor right away, but delighted when he got tapped to step in on short notice: he’d get to be a mentor this year after all, and just as importantly, he willingness to step up allowed a student to stay in the program.

His interest in mentoring came from his own positive mentoring experience at work. “I did a management development program at NBT, and we had mentors. I always thought it was kind of interesting, helping somebody go through their career, or go through life, and give them advice or really, just listen,” he said. “It thought mentoring would be a good way to give back.”

Kane worked with one student, conducting their meetings during his workday via Zoom. Even though this mentoring relationship only spanned a few meetings, he found the experience satisfying. “I just kind of like talking with people and hearing what they’re dealing with, and potentially help them find some solutions,” he said. Mentoring requires a degree of commitment from both parties, and Kane was impressed with the student that he worked with. “She showed that she was very driven to find a career in the finance industry, which I’m in, and she was just very prepared and easy to work with.”

He had praise for both the mentoring program and its coordinator, Martha Ryan, DCMO BOCES School and Community Liason. “Overall, it’s run really well, and I thought Martha did a really good job,” he said. “They had a little ceremony at the end, we got nice awards – mine’s hanging in my office now – and just did a nice job making us feel like we’d done a good thing.”

Kane is happy that the experience went well, and even more pleased that he’s able to continue in the role of a mentor. “I’m actually a mentor for one of the new management development associates (at NBT), so it’s all come full circle,” he said.

The mentoring program will now be coordinated by Commerce Chenango, Delaware County Chamber of Commerce and Otsego Chamber of Commerce. For more information on how to become a mentor, visit the chamber organizations’ website. For students’ access to mentoring services or to learn more about mentoring support, visit www.dcmoboces.com.