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Finding an experienced professional to help you during college can help you achieve your career goals when you graduate. That is why the University of Minnesota Alumni Association offers students an opportunity to connect with real-world experts through its Mentor Connection program.
Students can develop a relationship with an alum in their field of interest and receive information about careers, establish professional contacts, and find out more about life after college. Each year, the Mentor Connection program works with alumni societies to bring together over 4,000 current students and alumni.
Aaron Charlson, a microbiology student in the class of 2007, says the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) has opened his eyes to the world outside of college through this program. "CBS does a great job of letting you know there are other things outside of the classroom," he says. "I really enjoy the encouragement to do research."
Aaron gets the chance to learn about professional research from Dr. Mervyn de Souza. De Souza is a principle scientist of biotechnology at Cargill, a leading provider of food and agricultural services based in the Twin Cities. He says the mentor program gives students an edge by allowing them to learn from someone with real experience.
"It's nice to be able to share that experience with people who are going down a similar road," he says. "It gives them a better idea of how things work in the industry."
Students and their mentors get to know each other as professionals and as people. Aaron says he and de Souza have been out to coffee, to dinner, and toured Cargill, giving Aaron a chance to see what life is like in a professional setting.
"I think the University does a great job in developing you as a person," Aaron says. "They make you care about the world you're going into."
For more information about the Mentor Connection program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, visit http://www.alumni.umn.edu/mentorconnection.html.
- Will White
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