Kristen Beyer, National Director - Business Development, Ascend Wireless Networks

Kylie Trundle, Area Sales Manager for NWS

Kylie: My experience with the Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum's Mentorship Program has been nothing short of phenomenal! It is so important for women in our industry to have a space to come together, share ideas, champion each other, and help one another level-up. I have been in the mentorship program for 2 years and have been so grateful to have amazing mentors both times.

This year, my mentor Kristen Beyer, taught me the importance of showing up with your best foot forward, and she consistently led by example. She knows this industry so well and always created such a comfortable environment to talk ideas, sales strategy, and how to further build a network of both friends and colleagues. She gave me the space to ask any questions I needed to and we created not only a mentor/mentee dynamic but a great friendship. I look up to her in many ways!

I am so grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such amazing women in this industry who are true leaders. This program really did facilitate so much growth both professional and personal for me this year and I cannot wait for next year!

Kristen: Mentorship is something I always knew I wanted to do from early on in my career. I have been blessed by several people throughout my years in the industry who have helped guide me on my path to success, and I knew I needed to repay that somehow. In this program, the mentor and the mentee have a similar purpose: to seek growth, and that's exactly why I applied! Knowing that I could share my 20 years of experience and observe the do’s and don’ts (especially at wireless events) with a woman much younger than me made me realize how much we could both learn from each other.

We currently have four generations working side-by-side in this crazy telecommunications world, and sometimes us “old-timers” think we know the right way of doing things. However, this gave us the opportunity to share experiences, talk through them, and determine if there is a better approach.

My mentee and now friend is Kylie Trundle, Area Sales Manager for NWS. During our first introduction, I knew this was the best pairing possible. She was new to the industry but had previous sales experience, which allowed us to collaborate on what makes wireless sales different and how we could use some of her past experience to help close deals in telecom! I was able to share my connections with her, spend time together at wireless events, and be that place of encouragement when things didn’t go as planned. She even helped me get over my fear of “cold calling”. Even after the program has finished, we still know we have each other’s back no matter what. To my friend Kylie, you will do great things, and I am glad I was able to be a part of it!

You are never too old to mentor! You have something that nobody else has, and now is your time to share it!