This year has been the pilot for a mentorship program through the Career Planning and Development Office. Students applied in the early fall to be paired with a Drury alumni working in the student’s desired field.

“This has grown out of a demand,” said Emily Buckmaster, director of the Career Planning and Development at Drury. “There are a lot of studies that show that a mentor/mentee relationship is a marker of success for students across universities.”

The mentors come from a pool of interested Drury alumni. Every student who applied was matched with a mentor, making 141 pairs.

Each pair was deliberately picked based on the interests indicated in the student application. “The staff from the Office of University Advancement and staff from Career Planning and Development both worked together over several sessions to hand-match our students and alumni based on information provided on their interest forms,” said Buckmaster.

Advancements in technology and communication make this opportunity possible because many of the mentors are from all around the United States, according to Buckmaster. “There are so many options on how to communicate,” said Buckmaster. “Now you can Skype them, or call them on the phone.”

Sophomore Erin Michael is involved with the program and her mentor communicates with her primarily over email. “My mentor is a school counselor in St. Louis. It’s been great to see what opportunities are available after graduation, even in a different city,” said Michael.

One unique thing about the program is that it is entirely up to each pair how much or little they communicate. “We know that students and alumni are busy so we didn’t want to put a lot of restrictions when and how they correspond,” said Buckmaster. There are no regulations about what the pairs should talk about or how often. “We’re encouraging people to make it their own,” said Buckmaster. Students mostly wanted to be matched based on their career pick.

For Michael, this freedom was one of the major selling points for her to join the program. “If it were more structured, I would have been more hesitant to join. This way is great because I can contact my mentor on my terms when we both have the time,” said Michael.

The program is structured so that students get to initiate contact with their mentor. This is to ensure that the experience is customizable for each student.

For underclassmen, there are many options for the rest of your undergrad. You can either change your mentor or stay with them. Some students may want a variety of mentors throughout their time at Drury to provide different perspectives. Some students may want to take on a second mentor. It is completely up to them.

In the future, the Career Planning and Development office hopes to include recent graduates in the program so that they can be mentored by more seasoned alumni.

This program has been a positive experience for most participants and the Career Planning and Development office has received great reviews for the program.

Michael believes that talking to her mentor has really helped prepare her for her post-graduation plans. “Another person who has been to Drury knows what you’ve studied and how prepared you are for grad school or any other steps you might take in your field.”

Ultimately, students are excited about this program and how their relationship with their mentor can benefit them and their career. “This is a really cool idea and I’m glad that we’re doing it. I can’t wait to see how it goes in the future,” said Michael.