San Diego State’s Career Services and Alumni Association have partnered together to create a new program called Aztec Mentor Program, which will pair graduating seniors with alumni.
“It affords an opportunity to establish professional rapport with SDSU alumni and other working professionals as mentors in an on-going, one-on-one relationship for the purpose of career guidance, networking, interviewing and job shadowing,” AMP Coordinator and career counselor Bobbie Gray said.
The program is aligned with the “Leadership Starts Here” commitments and SDSU “Building on Excellence” strategic plan.
The program will focus on establishing relationships with professionals in the student’s field of study. This includes offering career guidance, networking opportunities, interview tips, tours of the organizations, sit-ins with clients and during meetings in addition to job shadowing. Students in the program will spend eight to 12 hours throughout the semester with a professional mentor. Communication methods may include email, phone, video chat apps (Skype, FaceTime, etc.) and other means decided by the mentor and mentee.
“The primary goal is to provide students a hands-on approach to the world of work,” Gray said. “Mentors will offer feedback, help students make connections between their mentoring experience and their academic learning, answer industry-specific questions and provide professional advice on career pathways and other career-related issues drawn from their own experiences.”
SDSU seniors will be invited to participate in the program via email from the Aztec Career Connection. Requirements to be a part of the program include a clear, professional resume, completion of an online practice interview, attendance at the AMP orientation and kick-off event in addition to completing other documents.
In Spring 2012, there was a similar program on campus, but it was restricted to business students only. In total, the program had 55 mentors and mentees.
“The insights they can provide to students is priceless,” SDSU alumnus and 2012 AMP mentee Andrew Won said. “I think just the whole experience of being able to network and learn from a successful industry professional is really a great experience for a student.”
AMP registration will be open from Sept. 3-17 to SDSU seniors in their last semester at SDSU. Mentors can register on ProNet, the professional networking site of Aztec Career Connection, to join the program. AMP will last from Sept. 27 to Dec. 6 this semester, giving SDSU students a new way to build professional networks by partnering current Aztecs with alumni.
Corrections: The following sentences were edited to correct errors in the original version: In the sentence “Students in the program will spend eight to 12 hours throughout the semester with a professional mentor.” Professional mentor replaced student mentee. In the sentence “Mentors can register on ProNet, the professional networking site of Aztec Career Connection, to join the program.” Mentors replaced Students.
