“There’s nothing that energizes me more than a room full of motivated Gusties,” Mike Dueber ’89 said, smiling over a room packed with students and mentors at the annual kickoff reception for the Gustavus Adolphus College Mentoring Program.
The event, held on October 26 at the Doubletree Hotel in Bloomington, was the first time that students in the program this year were able to connect with their mentors in person.
“The Mentoring Program Kickoff was amazing and impactful. The energy in the room was dynamic and so many connections were made,” Gustavus Center for Career Development mentoring coordinator and career specialist Laura Diaz said. “I look forward to the growth of this amazing program and the impactful connections students and alumni will achieve.”
Over the course of the evening, the growth of the mentoring program was highlighted. When the program started nine years ago, there were 12 pairs. Now, there are over 300 current students who are connected with a mentor in a related field. Part of this growth of the program is due to changes that have been implemented this year, including the addition of Gusties Connect, an online platform that helps close the communication gap between mentors and mentees. This platform made it easier for students to select their top choice mentors, and continues to prove useful by providing conversation prompts, allowing them to set up video calls, and giving them access to other mentoring resources.
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, the mentoring program seeks to assist in preparing students for the transition to professional life upon graduation, understand that many career paths are non-linear and encourage students to keep an open mind and explore varied possibilities, accept coaching to enhance and develop interpersonal, professional, and leadership skills, and assist in building a professional network. The program runs from October through May each year, with mentor/mentee pairs expected to connect by phone or in person at least once a month.
“The Gustavus Mentoring Program has grown significantly within the past year and we are excited for what the future holds,” student president Samantha Harbeck ’19 said. “Everyone was very excited for the beginning of a new mentoring year and for all of the connections that were made and that will be made in the future.”
To learn more about the Gustavus Mentoring Program, visit the Center for Career Development website.
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