UAA College of Business and Public Policy

The College of Business and Public Policy's Leadership Fellows Program pairs high-performing CBPP students with a mentor in the Anchorage business community, giving students the opportunity to learn about real-world leadership from local business leaders. This year’s cohort includes 21 CBPP students, called protégés, and their mentors. To begin the program, each protégé interviewed their new mentor, and every week, we will feature one of these interviews with the mentors, who share their thoughts on leadership. This week’s featured protégé/mentor pairing is Katie Dillbeck, and her mentor, Scott Jepsen.

1 Where are you from? How did you decide to pursue a career in Alaska?  “I was born in California. Moved around a bit: Oklahoma, Nevada, West Virginia and Texas. Went to school at the University of Texas at Austin. I’d always wanted to live in the mountains. When I graduated from college, one of the criteria for my next home was that it needed to be a location that I liked. I went to work for Arco because they offered me a job in Denver, which was the mountains, or close enough. They also had a location in Alaska, and I liked that. After a few years working for them I got a chance to come to Alaska. I applied for a job up here and was hired into Alaska.”

2 Where did you go to college? What did you study in college?  “Chemical Engineering because I liked science and math, also I could probably get a job when I graduated.”

3 Did you have anyone you relied on for mentorship/solid career advice? If yes, what is the most important leadership advice they shared with you?  “My dad. It wasn’t direct advice, as much as it was watching him. The ethical ideals he exemplified that struck me as most valuable included, “find a way to get along and find a way to work cooperatively in your organization”, “don’t fall on your sword over trivial issues” and “when decisions are made, get on board and do what you need to do to make the organization a success.”

4 It is important and beneficial for CBPP and Anchorage’s business community to collaborate and invest in the next generation of leaders. What do you think should be conveyed to our next generation of leaders?  “The world is changing. A lot of things that we took for granted when I graduated from college, that were traditional back then, don’t exist anymore. The idea of long tenure with one company seems to be a thing of the past. So, I’d say:

1.) Do what you want to do. Be interested in it. Find the things that you can be invested in, in an intellectual capacity at work. Something that motivates you to go to work. If it’s not there, don’t hesitate to change jobs. Don’t hesitate to find something that interests you.

2.) One thing about business is, your company does not love you. You need to realize that they are going to make business decisions. Those things may be favorable for you or they may be unfavorable for you. Every decision that the company makes or that you make needs to be viewed from a business point of view. Loyalty is good, and I think that loyalty is something that is rewarded. Companies look for it in employees, but don’t be blinded from the fact that you need to make business decisions for you and they need to make business decisions for themselves.

3.) You are just going to have to persevere. The political environment these days is not necessarily business friendly, but you can do well in it. You just have to roll with the punches and treat every difficult situation as a challenge that there is a solution to.”

5 CBPP will be highlighting each mentor and protégé pairing on the front of it’s website during the academic year. Do I have your permission to have this interview and our mentor/protégé pairing highlighted on the website? Is there anything else you would like to add? “Sure. No.”