Mentor Program

Are you ready to:

  • Make a real difference in a UW-Whitewater student's life
  • Open networking and recruiting doors
  • Gain a fresh perspective and new experiences as a coach, tutor, advisor and supporter
  • Strengthen your ties to the University
  • Receive personal satisfaction

THE MISSION

To provide current students with a link between academic theory and the realities of the professional workplace environment.

The program will provide students with an opportunity to gain access to professional networks and career guidance through an informative friendship.

Protege: one who is protected or trained or whose career is furthered by a person of experience, prominence, or influence

Mentor: a trusted counselor or guide

MENTOR GUIDELINES

  • Have contact with student Protege three times per semester
  • Discuss Proteges professional plans
  • Provide information regarding your profession

Suggestions:

  • Attend Mentor/Protege kick-off breakfast and other events on campus
  • Arrange to have student shadow you at work for a day, or a week
  • Meet with student for a casual gathering, such as lunch
  • Suggest professional development activities
  • Critique a resume and/or conduct a mock interview
  • Introduce Protege to professional colleagues
  • Recommend books and other resources

PROTEGE GUIDELINES

  • Make initial contact with Mentor immediately upon receiving information
  • Thank your Alumni Mentor for volunteering with a written note
  • Always be courteous and professional
  • If invited for externship, dress in an appropriate professional manner
  • Do not use Mentor as a job resource; it is not their function
  • Take the initiative to call or write; be persistent, but not rude
  • Invite Mentor to appropriate campus events
  • Attend Alumni Mentor breakfasts and socials

Suggestions:

  • Make time throughout mentoring relationship to recognize and thank mentor
  • Have specific questions you would like to address and have them written down
  • Write up a list of goals for participating in the Mentor Program
  • Present concrete ideas of what you would like to gain from the experience

MENTOR & PROTEGE TOGETHER

  • Establish guidelines for communication (such as frequency, whether to use home or business phone, etc.)
  • Cancel meetings only when absolutely necessary
  • Communicate regularly via email, phone, or scheduled meetings
  • Communicate with director of Alumni Relations, Mark Dorn, if there are problems, such as failure to return calls, or if uncertain about behavior of Mentor or Protege

For additional information on Protege participation, contact:

Debra Heiber
Director of Advising
College of Letters & Sciences
heiber@uww.edu
(262) 472-1550

UW-Whitewater
College of Letters & Sciences
White Hall 124
800 West Main Street
Whitewater, WI  53190-1790

For additional information on Mentor participation, contact:

Kate Canfield Loftus
Director of Advancement
College of Letters & Sciences
loftusk@uww.edu
(262) 472-1622 or fax (262) 472-5238

UW-Whitewater
College of Letters & Sciences
White Hall 103
800 West Main Street
Whitewater, WI  53190-1790

Application can be found at:
www.uww.edu/alumni/mentor/

Note: The Alumni Mentoring Program is not intended to facilitate job placement opportunities. As a voluntary program, the University relies on the information provided by the participants themselves and makes no other representations concerning the participants. Further, while the University assists in matching students with mentors, once the match is identified the University is not responsible for any aspect of the Mentor-Protege relationship, including the pursuit or continuance thereof.

This program does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, or parental status.