White Sands Missile Range employees participated in a mentorship seminar as part of the Defense Learning Certificate program May 21 at the Professional Development Center.
The seminar was part of a culminating capstone with participant presentations of their mentorship plans which were developed over the past five weeks with online coursework and synchronous sessions.
Tristan Gilbert, White Sands Test Center Technical Director, welcomed the students to the class.
“Please take this opportunity to learn from folks that have been out in the field. There is a lot of knowledge here,” Gilbert said.
The Defense Learning Certificate DLC program is a partnership that began between the New Mexico State University Physical Science Lab and White Sands Missile Range.
“The L in DLC is for Leadership and for me that is a means to build leadership capability. Leadership is not a title nor a position, wherever you are and whatever organization you are in you are a leader. You have influence on other people,” Gilbert said. “Take it seriously and invest in building those capacities so that you are more effective. Influence is not about manipulating people to get what you want out of a situation but to help the other person and organization to achieve collective objectives.”
Jeff Vargas, President and CEO, Generationology LLC, who led the class, said mentorship is an engine that drives success in a leadership capacity.
“Today we are going to have an opportunity to give people a chance to see themselves in the best way to mentor others,” Vargas said.
He said they will learn how to engage in this process and how to be fully present. How to listen, how to nudge people past their comfort zone and ultimately give them a platform to grow.
“When we do that, we are better individually, and we are better as an organization,” Vargas said.
Conducted by the world class training mentors from Chieftain Elite Consulting, DLC demonstrates a commitment to developing a highly skilled civilian workforce. By emphasizing professional leadership development, the program equips individuals with the tools to navigate complex challenges, fosters effective communication, and contributes to mission success.
James Boatwright, White Sands Test Center Executive Officer, said he really enjoyed the class.
“I think this class brings more dynamic to the mentor mentee relationship, especially when they talk about intergenerational groups of people and the way they learn and the products they use to articulate different aspects of their job.”
Dunesca Wilkerson, who works at the Logistics Readiness Center, said the class was great.
“I’m striving to be in a leadership role, and this is giving me a boost to see where I need to go and where I need to develop. I’m always interested in learning something new.”
Investing in civilian leaders ensures the Department of Defense and White Sands remain adaptable and resilient in the face of evolving demands. Over the past year, the DLC program has scaled beyond White Sands to include the Army Test and Evaluation Command. The DLC program has also scaled from one to five classes including Leadership and Team Building, Effective Communications, Mentorship and Talent Development, Improving Developmental Testing with Artificial Intelligence, and Technical Writing.
This partnership is driven by the overarching Classified Ready Employee Workforce CREW program sponsored by the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office CDAO.
CREW students from NMSU and New Mexico Tech participate in a National Security curriculum delivered by subject matter experts.
WSMR and other National Labs and Test Center partners sponsor internships and Capstone project work for the students to complete degree requirements. This sponsorship also provides a tremendous opportunity to experience the DoD workforce and apply their skills to actual DoD projects.
NMSU-PSL and White Sands Missile Range, and now ATEC continue to strengthen their partnership supporting the ultimate objective of recruiting highly talented students into the DoD workforce upon graduation.
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