Alumni of the Bennion Community Service Center at the U have the opportunity to reconnect with the center and make a difference in a student’s life through the alumni-student mentoring program.
The program, which started in January, matches students with professional mentors. Students and alumni both fill out questionnaires and are subsequently matched with each other through similar interests.
“(The program) is a chance for our students to receive valuable advice on academics, civic engagement and the professional world,” said Christy Tobolski, alumni program manager at the Bennion Center. “For our alumni, it’s a chance to reconnect with the Bennion Center, serve as a role model and make an important difference in a student’s life.”
Mentors can meet with their students as often as they want and share the experiences they’ve had as well as give guidance and encouragement to those students with similar interests. Mentors do not even need to live in the same state, because correspondence through e-mail or telephone is appropriate.
“So many of the Bennion Center’s alumni activities are geared toward those who’ve stayed in Utah,” Tobolski said. “I especially like the fact that this program accommodates our out-of-state alumni who want to reconnect with the center.”
Through correspondence with the student, alumni can talk about career goals, work and service experience, academics, internships and networking.
Tyler Eldridge, a senior in physics, decided to be a part of the mentoring program to meet someone who could help him stay involved with service and give him advice.
“As I am graduating soon, I would like to find a network of service-minded people to help me maintain, if not increase, my aspirations of service after school,” Eldridge said.
Eldridge has been involved with the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He also coached the U’s Special Olympics team and has participated in other community service activities.
Eldridge plans on attending medical school and wanted to meet someone with life experience who could offer him insights into difficult decisions on the way to graduation.
Christina Davis, a Bennion Center alumna and mentor, said she had a great experience with the Bennion Center and was hoping to be able to pass on some guidance to current students.
“The Bennion Center helped me meet a community interested in making the world better, which helped me focus my goals, get great experience and have a lot of fun doing it,” Davis said.
Davis will be graduating from the University of Oregon School of Law this year and plans on going into public interest law.
“I couldn’t have done it without great mentors and friends,” she said. “I figured I could give back a little and help another potential public interest lawyer out.”
Davis was initially contacted by Tobolski and is now a mentor for Leigh Mangum, a senior in sociology. Mangum is active within the Bennion Center and, like Davis, is interested in public interest law.
“I hope I can help Leigh reach her goals to work in the public interest (sector) after law school by sharing my experiences and perspective,” Davis said.
Organizers plan to expand the program in the future.
“I believe that once I get it up and running, it will prove to be a wonderful resource for both students and alumni,” Tobolski said.
Tobolski plans on building a bank of alumni for the program during the summer so more students can get involved after the break.