Sylvia Wendel

Mentorship Commitment Preference: Engage in a long-term mentorship (connect with your mentee throughout the semester, outside of LinkUp events — frequency and format are flexible). Available for in-person mentoring at LinkUp events

Industry: Government IT Consulting

Areas Suzanne is interested in mentoring: 

• Resume Review
• Work-life Balance
• Career Planning
• Networking Strategies
• Interview Preparation
• Skill Development
• Goal Setting and Motivation

Bio: Financial systems and an aficionado with nearly 30 years of experience, 20 spent as a federal government contractor.  The 1st 10 years were spent in a variety of companies and private industries.  Mom of 2, both of whom are about to be in college.

How did you get your first job? I was hired full-time with the company I had started an internship with during my junior year at GMU

If you were starting your career today, what is the one piece of advice you would give yourself? Find a trusted mentor to bounce ideas off.

In what ways has your career path been unique or unconventional? I worked in a number of industries before spending the last 20 in the federal government.  I started in the finance industry in college and began my full-time in a PR firm, and also worked in entertainment (circus), hospitality, and a family office.  

What career paths have you explored or transitioned between? I started as a financial analyst, realizing that I really didn't enjoy creating the same spreadsheets each month, began to automate that processing and then moved on to large ERP systems, where I became a subject matter expert in a couple of areas

What skills or experiences have been most valuable in your career? The professor in my ACTG class 102 told us that even if we had a lot of book knowledge, not being able to speak would cost us in the working world.  Also, having the continual desire to learn and analytical skills are extremely important in my line of work.

Affinity Groups Slyvia was part of during her time at Mason: 

• New Century College Alumni
• Newspaper
• CCM
• GMU Investment Club

Slyvia is open to participating in informational interviews