Alumni Mentorship Program

The Schar School Mentorship Program is open to current Schar Graduate or Undergraduate students, and all Schar alumni within 3 years of graduation.

To be a mentee, please review the following program guidelines:

• Volunteer Commitment: One Semester (September-December), with monthly (suggested frequency) communication with your mentor (virtual or in person).
• Mentees should be prepared when they attend their meetings to be respectful of their mentor’s time. All mentors are volunteers, please be mindful of their time.
• Prepare for meetings.
  • Bring your resume and other relevant documents.
  • Have a topic prepared that you would like to discuss.
    • Schar School Mentoring Program will send emails on suggested conversation topics in October and November.
  • Be prompt and on-time.
  • If applicable, provide your mentor read-ahead materials before meetings.
• Continuously show progress as to how you have applied what you learned.
  • This can be improvements on your resume or job applications, edits or changes to academic papers or publications, graduate school programs you are interested in exploring, or any other topics covered in meetings.
• Attend the Mentoring Orientation on September 17, 2024 at 6:30PM EST and other networking events with your mentor.
• Provide feedback to the Mentorship Program. If there are any concerns or issues between you and your mentor, please reach out to the Program Coordinators as soon as possible. The Mentorship Program will also issue a mid-semester survey requesting your feedback.

Program note: The goal of this relationship is not to gain employment through your mentor or their connections. While we understand many participants may be actively seeking employment or other career opportunities during the course of the semester, the mentor serves to help provide general professional advice and guidance, not to actively help a mentee secure employment.

Open to all current Schar Alumni who have 3+ years of experience in the professional field they want to mentor in.

• Volunteer Commitment: One semester, with monthly (at-minimum) communication with your mentee(s).
• Mentors outside the Washington, DC area are encouraged to participate with the understanding they will likely have virtual meetings with mentees.
  • If you are a mentor outside of the Washington, DC area, please be sure to communicate any time differences with mentees to ensure appropriate scheduling for your meetings.
• Provide regular, ongoing professional assistance with resumes, identifying career opportunities, and career counseling.
• Attend Mentoring Orientation on September 17, 2024 at 6:30PM EST and other networking events with your mentee.
• Provide feedback to the Mentorship Program. If there are any issues or concerns between you and your mentor, please reach out to the Program Coordinators as soon as possible. The Mentorship Program will also issue a mid-semester survey requesting feedback.