A recent Naval Air Systems Command honor for one Fleet Readiness Center East aerospace engineer proves that he is concerned with more than just the development of aircraft.

Senior Production Support Engineer E. Jamaine Clemmons was honored as Mentor of the Year for Cherry Point recently for the work he has done to impact lives of other professionals in the NAVAIR workforce.

Clemmons's advice, guidance and feedback caused him to stand out among the local field of mentor nominees, as one junior engineer he mentors said, such impartations have been applicable in professional and personal areas.

According to Rose Wagoner, Clemmons started as her peer mentor while the two worked together on the V-22 Drive System team. She called him a mentor and friend and attributed much of her successes to his advice and mentorship.

Wagoner said Clemmons has given detailed attention to her professional development and provided counsel that has shaped her interpersonal growth, decision-making, career trajectory and skills.  

The award came as a bit of a surprise to Clemmons, as his reason for mentoring is nothing about personal glory.

He said, "It was weird being named mentor of the year being that you mentor to make a difference in someone's life, not necessarily for any sort of recognition or anything of that nature. You mentor to give back, because somebody mentored you. Somebody got you to step outside of your comfort zone."

Clemmons graduated from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor's of Science in Aerospace Engineering and began working at FRCE/NAVAIR in 2009. He graduated from the NAVAIR Joint Engineering Training Team, Engineering and Science Development Program and Junior Leadership Development Program. He spent five years on the V-22 Drive Systems team, and was instrumental in standing up capability to repair V-22 gearboxes at FRC East. He became the senior production support engineer in 2015. He has made numerous process changes to increase quality, safety and efficiency at the depot.

Clemmons credited his mentors and their challenging him to step out of areas of comfort for the various successes he has achieved throughout his life. He said as a mentor he is sometimes an advocate, a confidant and the conveyor of perspectives or truths that is sometimes hard to swallow. He said that as a mentor he makes himself available, accessible and keeps the flow of communication open between those he mentors.

Clemmons has been a member of the NAVAIR workforce since 2009. He has been a professional mentor for about nine years. He also served as an unofficial mentor during his years in college to younger teammates and classmates. In addition to professional mentoring on the job, he mentors youth as a football coach and serves as president for his neighborhood's homeowner's association.  
"I try to lead by example," said Clemmons. "I feel mentoring is extremely important in today's time we need to be able to mold and guide the younger generations. ... It's just not about what I (impart to those I mentor), but about what I get from the younger engineers ... and the younger kid I was coaching. It challenges the norms. People may ask questions from different perspectives you may not be accustomed to, and you're able to see things from a different perspective. 

"I learn just as much from the engineers and younger kids as they learn from me. It's definitely a two-way communication street."