Century West’s mentorship program connects staff across offices to encourage teamwork, growth, and shared learning. Recently, Elizabeth Wilson, PE, from our Lake Oswego office in Oregon, traveled to northern Idaho to meet her mentor, Senior Project Manager Ryan Luttman, PE, in person. The visit gave her the chance to see the construction progress on projects she helped design and to experience the collaboration and community focus of Century West’s Sandpoint office.
“We had worked together on two projects that were both under construction,” Elizabeth said. “It was a perfect opportunity to go up, meet people in person, and see what was happening in the field.”
From Design to Construction
Elizabeth and Ryan have teamed up on two roadway projects in the Sandpoint area: the Schweitzer Plaza Extension in Ponderay and Railroad Avenue in nearby Kootenai. Both projects gave Elizabeth valuable opportunities to collaborate with new teammates and see how her designs take shape during construction.
The Schweitzer Plaza Extension created a new roadway corridor for the City of Ponderay, where Century West recently began serving as City Engineer. Elizabeth worked closely with Anthony Storro, EIT, from the Sandpoint office to bring the concept to life; she handled the modeling and roadway design, while Anthony developed the drainage system. Her visit happened to coincide with paving on the project.
“It’s always such a cool experience to see a design you’ve worked on in person,” Elizabeth said. “When they need to make adjustments in the field that don’t directly follow design, those kinds of learning opportunities are really cool.”
Mentorship in Action
Mentorship is a key part of Century West’s culture. It helps new engineers learn quickly, builds confidence through shared experience, and creates lasting connections across offices. By pairing people at different stages of their careers, the program provides both mentors and mentees with opportunities to grow together and strengthen the relationships that contribute to our team’s success.
For Elizabeth, meeting Ryan and the Sandpoint team showed how meaningful those connections can be.
“There’s always going to be gaps of mentorship needs that another office can help provide. When we collaborate across offices, we can make that an easier opportunity in the future—knowing what people’s strengths are and being able to lean on each other when we have those collaboration needs.”
Through the mentorship program, Elizabeth gained not only technical guidance but also a stronger sense of belonging and support beyond her local office. These relationships give newer staff confidence, while mentors benefit from sharing their experience and knowledge. Together, they help build a culture of learning and teamwork at Century West.
“Ryan took me around the entire city of Sandpoint and the surrounding areas. Seeing his impact on his community was very inspiring to me because I also want to primarily work on local projects and see the direct impact of my work in my community.”
New Insights
Elizabeth’s visit also highlighted the value of seeing how other offices work. Experiencing different regions helps engineers stay flexible, try new ideas, and understand how teams adapt to local clients and communities. This kind of experience strengthens both technical skills and communication across the company.
“I think it’s really easy to get very focused on our office—what we do and how we do things—but I think there is a lot of value in seeing how other offices approach their work, their client relationships, and even the way they interact with contractors.”
The Sandpoint office’s close-knit community and day-to-day client interactions contrast with the larger, more formal projects in the Portland Metro area. For Elizabeth, it was a reminder that every location offers new ways to connect, problem-solve, and grow as a team.
Continuing to Grow Together
Elizabeth’s story is a reminder that mentorship is a two-way exchange. Mentees gain confidence and new skills, while mentors rediscover their passion for the work through teaching and encouragement. At its core, mentorship at Century West is about learning from one another, sharing ideas across regions, and continuing to build connections that make our company stronger.