“It Was Just a Conversation at a Table”: How Design-Build Mentorship Opens Doors for the Next Generation

Inside one student’s journey from conference volunteer to career-ready, with help from a DBIA Fellow.

If you ask Kent State University senior Lola Preseren how she landed job offers, connections and life-changing opportunities all in one whirlwind DBIA conference, she’ll tell you it started with a single conversation at a table, between sessions, with someone who happened to be a DBIA Fellow.

That someone was Bill Hasbrook, 2023 Brunelleschi Award winner and longtime DBIA mentor. Their fateful meeting, facilitated by DBIA’s Tracy Powelson, at the 2023 Design-Build Conference & Expo blossomed into a mentorship that continues to shape Lola’s future and inspire Bill’s present.

This month’s episode of the Design-Build Delivers Podcast brings both voices together for a candid, often funny, always thoughtful conversation on what happens when the right people meet at the right moment and why DBIA’s commitment to mentorship is both a program and a calling.

Bill and Lola reflect on how their relationship began, how it grew into a structured mentorship (with monthly calls and plenty of real-time support in between) and what it means to serve as both mentor and champion. Bill shares his personal evolution from early EPC work to modern-day progressive design-build and his decades-long dedication to student outreach. Lola, a student leader with national ambitions, describes how stepping outside her comfort zone changed the trajectory of her professional life.

They also talk about the real, often intimidating challenges students face, from walking into a conference alone to navigating job offers in a competitive market, and how mentors can help make those moments less overwhelming and more empowering.

Whether you’re a design-build veteran or just starting out, this episode is a reminder of the power of connection, the importance of showing up for others and the ripple effect a single introduction can have.

The Design-Build Delivers Podcast is sponsored by U.S. CAD, An ARKANCE Company. Learn more at uscad.com/dbia.

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