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What’s happening in Mentoring?

To help facilitate the education and career journey for our young professionals who are adjusting to a mostly remote learning environment, APIA Scholars mobilized its community to form a large-scale mentoring program. The SMART Professional Mentoring program kicked off with mentee recruitment on March 23, 2020 and used Mentor Collective to service as the technology to match and manage mentoring relationships. Since then, more than 250 mentors and mentees have been matched and will continue to meet through November 2020.

Mentor Collective’s focus on facilitating authentic relationships based on common experiences, interests, and challenges inspired APIA Scholars to not only provide young professionals with mentors for immediate challenges but mentors who they can rely on for years to come. At the midpoint of the program, APIA Scholars has the 2nd highest engagement rate amongst Mentor Collective programs with mentor and mentee matches logging 1,145 conversations and more than 2,740 text message exchanges. Seventy-seven percent of mentors and 87 percent of mentees report having positive experiences with the mentorship program.

Common topics discussed between mentors and mentees include: academics, connecting coursework to career, graduate school, interviewing, networking, and staying balanced.  This has led to:

  • 75 percent of Mentees reported having a resume that sums up their skills and accomplishments.
  • 56 percent of Mentees reported having explored internships and/or research opportunities for the summer.
  • 48 percent of Mentees reported feeling confident when attending networking events

 

“I think the mentoring program + resources continue are really high quality and constantly improving. I feel like I’m having an impact and using my professional strengths and experiences to give back to APIA community.” — APIA Scholar Mentor

“I think having a teammate that can help me make sense of my skills, someone who provides a lot of resources, and is willing to give me the space and time that I need is HUGE for me and any student. If it wasn’t for my mentor, I wouldn’t be as hopeful and confident in myself as I would be if I took this feat alone. So thank you :)” — APIA Scholar Mentee

“I am setting up an info session at work to get more mentors. Because I think it is important to bridge younger API leaders with experienced ones who may have more to share than their parents.” — APIA Scholar Mentor

“I have had an extremely positive experience despite being reluctant to join. My disinclination stemmed from fear of the unknown. I have never had a mentor, so I never thought I needed one. But after having one, I realize that it’s not that I have a dependence on my mentor but rather I have someone to share my thoughts with and learn from his experiences in life from someone older and wiser than myself.” — APIA Scholar Mentee

To learn more about our mentoring program connect with our Vice-President of Programs, Shyam R. Gadwal on LinkedIn.  To receive updates and information for APIA college students and young professionals, follow Shyam on Instagram.