Become a Mentor!
The active engagement, enthusiasm, and support of ACG Alumni are integral to shaping and realizing the goals of the ACG community. If you would like to become a mentor to a Deree student, or ACG alum, to share valuable knowledge and insights, sign up to the ACG Connect Mentoring Program.
What is Mentoring?
Mentoring has many definitions. One of the most widely used is the following: Mentoring is a relationship between a senior/junior person, in terms of experience, who provides guidance as well as career and emotional support to a junior person. Mentoring relationships can develop informally or formally. There are also other forms of mentoring like one-off requests or short-term mentoring relationships.
The ACG Connect alumni mentoring program aims to:
- Enable mutual learning and development to take place in supported one-to-one mentoring relationships.
- Provide an opportunity for mentees to take responsibility for managing their own career development.
How do I become a Mentor?
Mentors are experienced professionals who volunteer to share their skills, knowledge and experience with mentees. We welcome the participation of all our Deree and Pierce alumni from our most senior members to more early-stage professionals.
If you select the mentoring option during your registration on ACG Connect, you will be visible on the platform as a mentor. If a student or other alum chooses you from the directory as a prospective mentor, then you will receive a mentoring request via the platform, which you can choose to accept or reject. If you haven’t opted in to become a mentor during your registration, you can do it at any time by editing your profile in settings.
What sort of time commitment does it involve?
It’s up to you. When volunteering as a mentor, you can choose from a list of mentoring services that range from taking a few questions over email, to offering internships or/and jobs. You are in control and can modify your offered services at any time.
Mentees
How do I become a mentee?
To become a mentee, simply log on to the platform, and click on the mentoring tab. The system will provide you with recommendations of mentor(s) that you can connect to. You can also search for a mentor by selecting a profile among the ones who have chosen the mentoring option. If they have, you can send them a request via the platform.
In this request you should include a personal statement, i.e. who you are, what you study, or your job role, what your aspirations and expectations are, and so forth. You and your mentor(s) can decide on how you will communicate – by email, ACG Connect video chat, skype, google, or messenger. But you also need to decide what kind of mentoring help you require.
Seek out your mentor today! Join ACG Connect, click on the mentoring tab, and have the system automatically match you, or search for a mentor who meets your goals.
When and how does the mentoring relationship end?
- The mentoring relationship can end at any time as agreed between the mentor and the mentee, and depending on the type of mentorship.
- When bringing the mentorship to a close, it is important for both the mentor and the mentee to evaluate the process and what has been achieved.
Celebrate the successes!