The Department of Economics is delighted to celebrate the 10th year of our Undergraduate Mentorship Program. This program started with a small group of 12 mentors to balloon to around 50 a year – allowing over 75 students to be mentored last academic year!
Back in 2010, a group of dedicated alumni had the idea to start a mentorship program after hearing the Economics Undergraduate Board’s presentation to the Visiting Committee, in which students requested more alumni involvement. The mentorship program has become one of the best means for the department to connect with both recent and longtime alumni, and has allowed those who would not otherwise been involved to reconnect with the department and give back to the community.
This vibrant program has provided mentors with a platform to give back in a very impactful way by passing on their knowledge to students who can then use their mentor’s experiences to shape their own career path. Students are able to delve deeper into what they would like to do with their economics degrees because of this program.
Mentoring allows the student to learn about specific jobs, career paths, networking, organizational cultures, business functions and industries. Students receive constructive feedback about career goals, career building, personal skills and business skills. The program mission is to enrich and support the professional, academic, and personal experiences of undergraduate students in the department in order to assist them in the transition from academic to professional life.
This past year, the program was able to host multiple career panels. This gave not only mentees, but students not in the program a chance to hear directly from those in the field about their career paths. Topics ranged from what type of graduate school is best for you, to working in tech. Students have reported these career panels to be significant in their decisions as to what type of career they should pursue.
Since the program’s conception, it has served hundreds of students; helping them to identify their professional career goals. Many of our former mentees have come back to the program as mentors because of the great impact the program had on them as students.
Alumni and friends in the economics field are welcome to mentor. If you are interested in getting involved, please write to the department’s administrator, Kim Lee.