SHARE YOUR SUCCESS
Be a Dana Mentor
Dana College alumni have a new way to give back to
their alma mater through the gift of their time and expertise.
The Dana Mentors program, newly instituted by Dana’s
Career Services office, enables current students to be in contact
with a working alumnus or friend of the college to ask questions
about occupations and job searching.
According to Ann Nelson, director of career services,
many of Dana’s current students are the first in their family
to attend college. Consequently they may have limited occupational
knowledge of professional careers. “This is a crucial need
for them,” she said.
Dana Mentors serve as a resource for current students.
They may serve as a sort of a personal advisor to a student, sharing
information about their career and career path through phone conversations.
Other mentors may choose to visit campus and be a part of panel
discussions about careers or give talks about their occupational
fields to classes or groups of students.
A mentor may be called upon several times a year,
but there may also be a year when there happen to be no requests.
Contact with professionals is motivating to students,
Nelson said. “They pick up things that they can’t learn
anywhere else,” she said. “That gift of experience,
there’s just nothing like it for the students.”
The benefit is not only for the students but for the
alumni as well. It provides an opportunity to stay connected with
Dana College. “Even if they are unable to come back for every
reunion, they can have two 20-minute phone conversations with a
student each year,” Nelson said.
Dana Mentors also provide a venue to make a difference
in the life of a current student. “It’s something each
alum can give of their own experience. They can leave something
in the heart and mind of another as they go out in the world,”
she said. “It’s completely portable. It goes wherever
they do. It’s not bound by time. They will affect others,
who will in turn affect others.”
“This is kind of the heart and soul of the Dana
difference,” Nelson said.
For More: To sign up for the Dana Mentors Program,
contact:
Ann Nelson
Director of Career Services
(402) 426-7258
You can also sign up through the web site. A complete
list of job titles in which the mentoring program is missing volunteers
is also available:
www.dana.edu/careerservices/mentors.html
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