UCF Nicholson School of Communication Alumni Launch Mentorship Program
Story by Anne Shirley Lewis, UCF Knightly News
Co-author Julia Anderson, UCF College of Sciences
Nicholson student Vanessa Rodriguez talks with mentor Paula Machado, ’12, reporter for InfoMas.
Nicholson School of Communication students met with their mentors for the first time at the pilot mentorship program breakfast, which was held by the UCF NSC Alumni Chapter on Wednesday morning in the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center.
The purpose of the program is to connect students with alumni who share similar academic backgrounds, professional interests and career fields.
This is the first program of its kind, said Shaloni Prine, the assistant director of the UCF College of Sciences Alumni Relations. If this pilot does well, it will be implemented throughout the entire college of sciences.
Mentors share experiences, provide new perspectives and insight into their specific industry, enhance the mentee’s skill sets and add knowledge about advancement, according the mentorship handbook.
Alumni working in the areas of radio-television, journalism and public relations were selected as mentors for the pilot program. The diverse selection of alumni represent companies including EA Sports, Hearst News Corp, News 13 and Orlando Sentinel.
The UCF Nicholson School of Communication Knights & Squires mentorship breakfast.
Students in the Nicholson School are nominated by their professors to be a part of this program. The nominated students are paired with alumni for a three-month mentorship program ending in July.
Each mentor and mentee is required to meet a minimum of three times — whether that be face to face, via phone or by email — and discuss career information, common interests, accomplishments and do’s and don’ts of networking .
“It is really your network, which is key to your development. It’s the network that you build that is crucial to moving to the next step,” said Lauren Gustafson, ’08, chair-elect of the UCF NSC Alumni Chapter. “Every job I’ve had I have gotten from the people that I know.”
UCF faculty, Dr. Tim Brown and Rick Brunson, attended the event on behalf of the Nicholson School of Communication.
If you are interested in participating as a mentor in the Knights & Squires mentorship program, please e-mail nsc@ucfalumni.com.
Read the original story on Knightly News.