Carthage’s Summer Mentoring Program was a success!

Last month, Carthage’s Summer Mentoring Program came to an end.

Utilizing The Aspire Network platform to connect students and alumni, over 50 mentees and mentors met virtually to discuss a specific topic on professional development each week.

During full-program meetings, a brief presentation was given by the program coordinator. Mentees and mentors joined breakout rooms to have their weekly discussions. On weeks the program did not meet as a whole, groups set a date and time to meet privately for their weekly topic discussion.

Each presentation was designed to provoke thought and discussion for mentees and mentors before they met privately. Helpful ideas and strategies were also offered to support student professional development. For example, the first full-program meeting offered an introduction to specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-based (SMART) goals for mentees. Mentees were then asked to create one such goal for their summer internship and record it in their weekly reflection.

This inaugural program has already seen many successes. Participants were surveyed, and 100 percent of mentee respondents noted their internship experience was improved by the program. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said it improved their experience greatly or significantly. Below are testimonials from student mentees on their experiences:

• “I think [my mentor] really gave me an honest look into the career I want. I didn’t know anyone going into my field, so having someone to talk to who is living it every day and knows what it is like was really helpful. It felt like I was getting an inside and real view, which would not have been possible without this program. I just learned a lot about my field in a realistic way.”
• “[It was impactful] just having someone so knowledgeable and familiar with life after college. You don’t really get to talk about these sorts of things. As someone in such a transitional stage working an internship nothing like the ones I’ve had before, it was nice to have someone to talk to. Not only did I enjoy this program as a whole, but I really enjoyed my mentor — just having someone I could really trust and confide in, knowing that they truly cared to be here and help.”

Mentoring Program returns this fall!

The Mentoring Program will be back this fall. Are you interested in becoming a mentor for a current Carthage student this academic year? Let us know by filling out an interest form, and we will reach out when we have a mentee for you!