Military bonds to professional mentorship

Adrian Romero, consulting director and former national leader of our VALOR employee network group, shares how his experience of growing up in a military family mirrors the support RSM provides military veterans and their families. 

As the son of a Marine, I grew up with a great respect for our women and men in uniform: respect for their leadership style, courage, results-oriented mentality, and strong and proud work ethic, as well as their ability to make an impact and come together as a team to collaborate for common goals. Many of their bonds are rooted in care for one another and common goals.

Growing up in the Romero family boot camp, I learned how planning, quality and timeliness set up individuals and teams for successful outcomes. I learned how bonds formed during tough times or new experiences are forged with strength like no other. These are areas our firm has reinforced and supported as I utilized our VALOR mentorship program and then decided to begin our Hiring Our Heroes efforts.

When we set out in engagement and innovative initiatives at RSM, like-minded individuals are encouraged to join forces, develop bonds and collaborate for the betterment of the firm and individuals. A good example of this is our relationship with Student Veterans of America. The firm supported a pilot of their national conference, which was an immediate success. As we continue this investment, we can develop mentorship relationships across the enterprise, collaborate to make a greater impact on our employees who are connected to the military, and invest time in our military service members, spouses, dependents, allies and survivors, for the first time all under one roof.

Our firm is doing a wonderful job understanding the need to meet our employees where they are in order to support, upskill and create a path to success in everyone’s career. It’s a true testament to the power of being understood, our yearning to be and do better, and our desire to provide a culture that is unmatched.