By Sandra Wu
What does it really take to move from graduate school into a meaningful, successful career?
For many of our students in the Comm Lead Consulting program, the answer isn’t just coursework or even hands-on projects. It’s mentorship. The mentorship program we offer here connects students with professionals who have once stood exactly where they are now: navigating career pivots, building new skills, and learning how to translate academic experience into real-world impact.
For mentors like Ekta Dokania, Ryan Quigtar, and Hedy Li, this journey has come full circle. They bring not only years of professional expertise, but also a deep understanding of the Comm Lead experience. A shared belief that mentorship is one of the most valuable, yet often underutilized, resources available to students.
From Theory to Practice: Ekta’s Journey
Ekta’s career path spans industries, continents, and life stages — from television production and public relations in India to brand marketing leadership in the United States. After taking time away from the workforce as a stay-at-home parent, she made the decision to re-enter the professional world through the Comm Lead program.
Like many students, she entered Cohort 18 with a strong academic and professional foundation. Courses such as Future of Marketing, Crisis Communication, Content Marketing, and Multicultural Marketing equipped her with critical frameworks and strategies. But it was the Consultancy that transformed that knowledge into something tangible. I sat down with Ekta to learn more about how her experience in the Consultancy had shaped her journey in landing her first job in the United States.
“Applying what you learn in real life with real clients teaches you what to prioritize, what not to prioritize, what is the client really looking for, and to really understand and listen for the business and the client needs. That’s the reality check you get when you work on a live project.”
As Ekta shares.
Through her work in the Consultancy, including leading the One Vax Two Lives public health campaign during the height of COVID-19, Ekta gained the kind of experience that directly translated into career opportunities. That project ultimately played a pivotal role in helping her land her position at T-Mobile four years ago, and she now leads brand strategy for Metro by T-Mobile as Senior Brand Marketing Manager.
Reflecting on her experience, she is unequivocal:
“I really am the biggest example and a supporter of the Consultancy and what it gives … it gives you real world experience, which is exactly what you need.”
Today, Ekta leads high-impact, data-driven marketing campaigns, but she credits her ability to navigate complex business challenges back to one key lesson from her Consultancy experience: learning how to listen to clients, to stakeholders, and to the needs behind the brief.
Building Relationships That Last: Ryan’s Perspective
As one of the founding members of Comm Lead Consulting and a professional with over a decade of experience in nonprofit leadership, community engagement, and strategic planning, Ryan has seen firsthand how mentorship can shape career trajectories.
But mentorship, he emphasizes, is not a passive experience.
For Ryan, the most successful mentorship relationships are built on proactive communication, trust, and mutual investment. It’s not about rigid structures or frequent check-ins, but rather it’s about creating a dynamic that works for both individuals.
“Having a good relationship with a mentor doesn’t mean consistent check-ins once a week, but it’s whatever works for you and your mentor to have good communication … and over time, a relationship is built.”
As Ryan reflects.
This approach highlights the responsibility and opportunity for students. By taking initiative, asking questions, and being transparent about their goals and challenges, students can unlock deeper levels of support and guidance. And the impact doesn’t end when the program does. Ryan points out that mentorship relationships often evolve into long-term professional connections — ones that extend far beyond Comm Lead and into students’ careers.
Navigating Complexity with Confidence: Hedy’s Insights
For Hedy, who graduated in June 2025 and now works at TikTok as Strategy Manager, the Consultancy experience was foundational in preparing her to navigate the complexity of a large, fast-paced organization. Through working with clients across industries, she developed one of the most critical skills in any communications role: the ability to translate ideas across audiences.
“Talking with a lot of clients from all walks of life and industries, I learned how to speak the ‘language’ of my audience and translate my ideas into their specific context. In a large corporate setting, it helps me to build rapport across different functions.”
As Hedy illustrates.
But beyond communication, Hedy emphasizes a deeper, more strategic layer of listening, one that goes beyond surface-level requests.
“Don’t just listen to what a client says they want; listen for what they need.”
In the Consultancy, this meant learning how to take ambiguous client asks and transform them into something actionable.
“I learned to break down high-level, sometimes vague requests into operational, step-by-step directions that a team can actually execute.”
This ability to bring clarity to uncertain situations is what continues to guide her work today. And just as importantly, her experience working with smaller organizations and nonprofits taught her how to navigate constraints with originality and vision.
“Working with smaller organizations… taught me to be creative and resourceful, knowing exactly who to tap for information and how to leverage existing tools to find a path forward when the ‘standard’ resources aren’t available.”
That mindset has proven invaluable in her current role:
“You don’t wait for a map; you build a path.”
Making Mentorship Work for You
Like Ryan, Hedy reinforces that mentorship is only as powerful as the effort students put into it. The most effective mentees don’t just ask broad questions. Instead, they come prepared with context, ideas, and a clear understanding of where they’re stuck.
“When you meet a mentor, don’t just ask ‘How do I do this?’ Instead, provide your context: Show them your ideas, the resources you’ve identified, the limits you’re hitting, and the specific road-blocker.”
By doing so, students allow mentors to move beyond surface-level advice and offer more strategic, tailored guidance.
“This allows us to give you high-level strategy rather than just a ‘to-do’ list.”
Echoing Ryan, Hedy also emphasizes the importance of ownership in maintaining the relationship:
“A mentor’s time is a gift, but the student should be the engine that keeps the relationship moving forward.”
That means proactively following up, continuing the conversation, and building momentum over time. And mentorship shouldn’t stop at conversation, because ultimately it should translate into action.
“Take diligent notes… but more importantly, go back and practice what was discussed.”
The most impactful mentorship relationships are built through iteration and reflection:
“Coming back to a mentor with ‘I tried what we talked about, and here was the result’ is the best way to show you value their time.”
Turning Experience into Opportunity
Hedy also offers a compelling perspective for students who may feel they lack traditional experience. Instead of focusing on titles or roles, she encourages students to focus on how they think.
“We don’t need to be a designer to have a ‘portfolio.’ Use your projects to document the thinking process: how you identified a problem, how you navigated the ‘messy middle,’ and how you arrived at a solution.”
This approach reframes the idea of a portfolio as a reflection of problem-solving ability and strategic thinking, as opposed to merely a collection of polished outputs.
She also encourages students to expand their perspective beyond immediate project work:
“Follow up with mentors and people adjacent to your projects. Ask them who else you should be talking to.”
This kind of outreach helps students better understand the industry landscape and where their skills can fit within it.
Mentorship as a Necessary Resource for Success
The Comm Lead Consulting Mentorship Program is built on a simple but powerful idea: students shouldn’t have to navigate this journey alone.
Mentors like Ekta, Ryan, and Hedy are not just industry professionals. They are former students who understand the uncertainty, the ambition, and the transformation that defines the Comm Lead experience. Their willingness to give back reflects the impact that mentorship once had on their own journeys.
For current students, the message is clear:
The value of mentorship lies not just in its availability, but in how you choose to engage with it. Reaching out, asking for help, and building relationships with transparency and intention can turn a single conversation into a lasting professional connection.
And in many cases, it’s those connections that make the difference between where you are and where you’re trying to go.
If you are a student working on a project within the Consultancy and would like to be paired with a mentor, you can reach out to our Community Manager to learn about next steps.
University of Washington