Volume 11, Number 4, 2003
When John Trochimowicz decided to return to school to earn a master's degree in business administration at UD, he already had worked several years as a physical therapist. But, he says, he knew he lacked insight into how the corporate world worked.
"I signed up for the MBA Mentor Program to get that insight," he says. "Since a graduate program is only two years, you really have to stay focused on your career goals from the very beginning, and I've found that a mentor can be extremely helpful with that."
Trochimowicz is one of about 70 MBA students in the Lerner College of Business and Economics who currently are making use of the mentoring program to learn firsthand about a particular industry or career path and to network one-on-one with a working professional. Other students also say the experience of having a mentor has enhanced their graduate education, according to Ron Sibert, the College's MBA program manager.
"The students who have been involved as protégés since the mentor program began in 1996 have told us that they were very pleased with it," Sibert says. "It's an opportunity to get exposure to the workaday world, and the networking opportunity is huge."
Each fall, the mentor program holds a get-acquainted meeting for interested MBA students and prospective mentors, and Sibert matches the participants based on their professional interests. After the initial match, it's up to the students to contact their mentors and arrange future contacts.
"The mentor is a great resource, and the program is a wonderful opportunity," Sibert says. "But, we make it clear that it's the students' responsibility to take advantage of it."
Each mentor-protégé relationship is individualized and flexible, he says. Some pairs meet as often as every month, at the mentor's office or more informally for breakfast or lunch. Some meet face-to-face only occasionally but communicate more frequently by phone and
e-mail. The program encourages students to share some part of their mentors' work experience if possible, perhaps spending a day "shadowing" the mentor on the job or attending a professional meeting as his or her guest.
In Trochimowicz's case, he's had two mentors in his two years in the MBA program, and each has resulted in a different kind of relationship. In his first year, he says, his mentor met with him informally several times and offered his perspective on business in general.
"At the time, I needed that kind of perspective because I was coming from a health-care, not a business, background, and my mentor was very helpful in giving me a taste of the corporate world," Trochimowicz says. "This year, I'm in a different position, starting my career search, and my current mentor has been great. I need somebody to help me stay focused, and he's been very helpful in critiquing my résumé and giving me lots of pointers."
His current mentor, Andrew Maxwell, BE '91, '98M, who works for MBNA America Bank, says he's tried to help Trochimowicz think carefully about choosing a career path and to impress on him the importance of that choice.
"Résumés and job interviews are important, but I think deciding on a field is the key," Maxwell says. "You have to find out what you really care about and are excited about, what it is that will make you love your job and therefore work hard and therefore succeed. That's what John and I have discussed a lot."
Karen McKay, also a second-year MBA student, says she also has found that a mentor can be helpful with advice about coursework, internships and career possibilities. "The most valuable part of the program for me is the personal contact with someone who has business experience," she says.
The mentor relationship generally lasts for a school year, but some pairs decide to extend it.
Since the mentor program began, most mentors have themselves been graduates of the University's MBA program, although efforts now are under way to expand to other working professionals. Some of those alumni-mentors were formerly protégés in the same program.
"A key benefit for alumni to participate is that it brings them back into involvement with the College and the MBA program and gives them a connection to current students," says Bob Barker, director of MBA corporate relations and career services, who piloted the mentoring program. ?
Mark Oller, BE '94M, notes with regret that the mentor program didn't exist when he was earning his MBA. But, he found a mentor in his workplace, he says, and because he appreciates that relationship, he volunteered to mentor a UD student.
"I'm happy to help current students with their career development," Oller says. "That's an area that can't be readily covered in the classroom."
Dave Rudy, BE '71M, who signed up to be a mentor when the program began, says he enjoys getting to know students each year. "I volunteered in the first place to keep abreast of how the MBA program is helping current students and to give a different perspective to those I interacted with," he says.
Sibert says he expects the program will continue to grow--participation this year is at a record high--as an increasing number of MBA students see value in taking part. Although a mentor is never asked or expected to find a job for a protégé, he says, the experience can only be a benefit to students as they seek their first jobs, especially in a tight economy.
--Ann Manser, AS '73, CHEP '73