A Career Mentor in her Corner

As Ekamjot Kaur Khaira, MS ’23, began her job search, she knew there was a way to gain those valuable interviewing insights: a mentor.

Since September, Khaira has been mentored by Rick Fenrich, MS ’89. Khaira met Fenrich at a breakfast celebration for Fast 46 honorees held in the Career Design Center (CDC). Fenrich’s company, Identification International, Inc. (i3), which develops, builds, sells and supports leading-edge forensic fingerprint hardware and software, received Fast 46 honors at a ceremony the night before.

Khaira was pursuing a master’s degree in data science and working at the CDC. She searched the names and backgrounds of the Fast 46 recipients, noting that Fenrich had also studied computer science at UB. At the breakfast, she listened to how patiently Fenrich interacted with students, then approached him to introduce herself and discuss an idea she had.

“A month before I met Rick, I had a peer who had a mentor and he always talked about how much he was positively impacted,” Khaira explains. “I thought I need a person to inspire me during this tech industry hiring freeze, to motivate and guide me through it.”

After a brief conversation that stuck with them both, Khaira asked Fenrich to mentor her.

“I’ve never been a mentor to anyone before,” explains Fenrich. “But at this conversation, we exchanged some info, and I looked at her and said, ‘There’s no way you’re not going to be successful.’ She asked how I knew that, and I realized that in my experience, she had the right attitude. She asked if I would be her mentor, and I said I’d think about it. On the drive back to Virginia, I recognized her effort and drive, and I had to do it.”

While Khaira was in Buffalo and Fenrich was back home down south, the two exchanged emails every week or two and met occasionally via Zoom. They talked about successful interviewing strategies, the interviewers’ perspectives, and most importantly, the power of confidence.

“I was about to graduate in December, so we met at the peak time for me to start applying, network, all the stuff to find a job before I graduate,” Khaira explained. “He listened to everything I had to say. All of my doubts, queries, what I was nervous about, what I was happy about. All of his emails had info that turned out to be valuable in my interviews. He said and sent so much, and I really took the time to absorb all of it.”

A few months into their mentorship, Khaira came across a job posting that seemed like the perfect fit. But she wasn’t sure, so she checked in with Fenrich.                          

“We knew she had the technical skills,” explains Fenrich. “She had the attitude, but we had to work on the doubts.”

“The first day he told me that I’d be successful because of my attitude and approach,” says Khaira. “I thought about that before every interview. Then when I sent him the job description, I wasn’t sure that the job fit my qualifications. His words of affirmation were that I’d be a good fit and I had a great shot. That confidence got me the job.”

Khaira started her new position in January working at a small software development company doing custom application design and showcasing the work to clients. Even though she landed her dream job, the two plan to keep in touch.

“I’m just beginning my career, so his guidance will help at the different points coming up,” she explains. “And not just positive reassurance; it’s good to hear critique and observations about what to improve. Those are equally as important in this journey.”

As a first-time mentor, Fenrich was surprised at how much he got out of this partnership and is looking forward to opportunities to help Khaira advance her career as she needs it.

“What made it really valuable to me was being able to give advice—she made it apparent that it was valuable to her,” explains Fenrich. “Because there was value to her, it was valuable to me.”