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 Maria Camila De La Torre, and her mentor Nolan Klouda.

1 Where are you from? How did you decide to pursue a career in Alaska? 
“I grew up mostly Anchorage, Alaska but also lived in Kodiak and Old Harbor. I graduated high school in Anchorage and left for college and ended up living in the lower 48 for eight years. I decided Alaska was the place where I wanted to live, I have my family roots here and missed the environment that is so unique. Those are the biggest things that drew me back, and also I found there are great career opportunities in the state of Alaska.”

2 Where did you go to college? What did you study in college? 
“I went to Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesotta where I studied History and Political Science.”

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? 
“The most significant mentor for me was well after college, and that was and is my current mentor and supervisor Christy Bell. She is the Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of the UAA Business Enterprise Institute. She has been my supervisor for about six years all together. The best guidance that I ever got from her was that you should never be afraid to fail; and that when you’re taking on something large (a big project), what you really have to do is get out there and try your best and not be afraid of failure. You will learn the best information in life by continuing to try your best even after you fail.”

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?
“I think it is essential. It is completely necessary to invest in the talent that we have here in state. I think Alaska is going through, and will be going through some tough times as far as how our economy goes and the only way that we can really pull through it and really come out strong on the other side is if we have strong leaders in place and if we have really talented individuals that are doing their best to develop Alaska as a competitive place in the global economy. That really does depend on having strong leaders that emerge in the next generation.

One of the things is that I think many people, including myself when I was younger, I agonized a lot about career choices and that if I went in this direction I would be giving up on this other potential direction. I think that people have their best career success early on if they really jump in and try their hand at a certain path. If they don’t like it, that’s okay. Cause I think in life most people now change, not just jobs, but over the course of their lifetime they are going to change careers at least a few times. So you’re not necessarily stuck in one path if you choose it. So to really acquire a skill set and learn where your talents are and where you can best fit in in the workplace, you really need to pick something and go with it and see if it works for you.”

5 CBPP will be highlighting each mentor and protégé pairing on the front of it’s website during the academic year. Is there anything else you would like to add?
“ Yes, you do have permission to post this on the website. ”