Mentorship — Corderman & Company - Construction Management

Rich Daly has been a Superintendent at Corderman & Company for four years and has been in the construction industry for 40 years. These four decades of experience in construction have been filled with a vast array of successful projects, meaningful relationships, and a profound learning and understanding of the industry. Most recently, Rich chose to apply as a mentor for the Madison Park Vocational Technical School through their mentorship program. The program is an extension of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, and works to pair up mentors with students in the school’s trade programs. After being accepted, Rich was paired up with a young boy in the plumbing trade at the school.

Madison Park hosts a get-together once a month for the students and mentors, during which discussions and activities are hosted to promote high school success and college and career planning. Interview skills, resume building, and public speaking are among some of the topics that are addressed during these monthly meetings. In between these activities Rich and his mentee talk about basketball and share their experiences both having grown up in the city. Occasionally, students not yet paired with a mentor will join their group for the afternoon.

More importantly, perhaps, than the development of various career skills during these sessions is the ability to provide these young children with a reliable lifeline. In discussing the importance of this mentorship, Rich emphasized the need for these young students and kids to have someone in their life that they can reach out to and with whom they can feel comfortable speaking candidly and asking for help when they need it.

Rich understands the importance of having someone as a lifeline and a mentor. As a young boy, he wandered into his local YMCA and happened upon the Boylston Chess Club. The President of the club at the time, a man by the name of Harry, took Rich under his wing, inviting him into a new, safe, and welcoming community that he is still part of to this day. Part of what Rich learned to love about the game of chess was the way that a wrong move or a mistake would almost immediately result in a loss of a piece or the game, something that is not always so immediately obvious in real life. Rich recently donated chess sets to the school, a huge hit among the kids and an impactful, full circle moment for himself.

In choosing to take part in this mentorship, Rich now has the opportunity to help these students form their career plans, give necessary feedback, offer friendship and compassion, and share his industry and life experiences. Though different from chess, he can help them learn to navigate mistakes and challenges, and provide support as they pursue their goals.

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