A Mentoring Program: What Do Students Want and What can Working Professionals Provide?

Abstract

Mentoring programs have been experiencing a rebirth in attempts to achieve a variety of goals, one of which is career preparation. Traditional course work and laboratory training offered by universities ensure that students obtain the technical skills necessary to practice in their profession. To better assist students with career preparation, a mentoring program that matches students with practicing professionals is under consideration at one university. Students and working professionals were surveyed via questionnaires to determine their interest in and willingness to commit to participating in a mentoring program, and their ability and willingness to serve as mentors, respectively. Overall, 95% of the students surveyed indicated that they would like to participate in a mentoring program, while nearly 82% of the working professionals who returned questionnaires indicated their willingness to serve as mentors. Parameters of the proposed program, desired mentor characteristics, and expected benefits will be discussed.