{"id":51583,"date":"2018-04-06T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T12:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=51583"},"modified":"2019-05-22T09:56:44","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T13:56:44","slug":"mentoring-momentum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2018\/04\/06\/mentoring-momentum\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentoring momentum"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Kathleen Hinders, retired CFO at Crown Packaging Corp., mentors Kayla Mosley, an English literature major, as part of a pilot program in the College of Liberal Arts that matches selected students with professionals. (Photo by Chris Snyder)<\/p><\/div>\n

A pilot mentoring program in Wright State University\u2019s College of Liberal Arts<\/a> that matches selected students with professionals in the outside community promises to increase student success in entering the workforce.<\/p>\n

The professional mentoring program<\/a>, which began in January, linked 13 juniors and seniors with 13 professional mentors.<\/p>\n

The mentors include local professionals from business, information technology, consulting, management and nonprofits. The students are majoring in such things as international studies, mass communication, English and urban affairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere we could make matches where the backgrounds are very similar, we did so,\u201d said Jennie Buckwalter, assistant dean for community and student engagement who implemented and oversees the mentoring program. \u201cThe mentors are all really excited to mentor these students. They are well-networked and connected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buckwalter said many students approaching graduation haven\u2019t given much thought as to how to land that first career job.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes our students are so busy and so focused on getting the grades and getting through the term that it\u2019s hard to invest in time geared toward their futures,\u201d she said. \u201cAny student who is looking to be successful upon graduation, securing that first job and making a good lasting impression would benefit from this program.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students have also been given program handbooks. And they have at their disposal the resources of The Center for Liberal Arts Student Success (CLASS), which combines advising, faculty\/student relationship-building, peer mentoring and career counseling.<\/p>\n

The mentoring initiative is the brainchild of Linda Caron, dean of CoLA, and Travis Greenwood, president of the Wright State University Foundation Board.<\/p>\n

Greenwood earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in communication from Wright State in 1984 and his master\u2019s in administration from Central Michigan University in 1991. He has worked as a defense contractor and is co-founder of The Greentree Group, a growing strategic technology consulting company headquartered in Beavercreek.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Jenna Coulombe, a criminal justice and political science major, has been mentored by Travis Greenwood, president of the Wright State Foundation Board. (Photo by Erin Pence)<\/p><\/div>\n

About 10 years ago, Greenwood began teaching a class at Wright State designed to help students transition from college into the business world. He said the vast majority of students were unprepared to do so.<\/p>\n

Greenwood said the professional mentoring program is special because it\u2019s one-on-one. And he said local professionals are willing and eager to mentor students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to help these students be much more successful than they would have been,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Greenwood is one of the mentors and is currently mentoring Jenna Coulombe, a criminal justice and political science major from Centerville.<\/p>\n

Coulombe, who expects to graduate in 2019, is thinking about going to law school or getting a job helping former offenders re-enter society.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was interested in the mentoring program because I believe that the knowledge I acquire in the classroom is extremely valuable, but I don\u2019t think the classroom can teach everything,\u201d said Coulombe. \u201cSo I really was interested in the mentor program to get connected with somebody in the community that could teach me professional-development skills that I might be missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coulombe is a first-generation college student.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really have anybody else to turn to about higher-education questions, career-related questions, strategic moves in my career,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s helpful to know that I\u2019ll always have Travis to contact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kayla Mosley, a junior English literature major from Greenfield, paired up with Kathleen Hinders, who recently retired as the chief financial officer at Crown Packaging Corp. in Kettering. Hinders is a certified public accountant but also has a degree in English from Wright State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it helps the students if they understand what businesses are looking for,\u201d said Hinders.<\/p>\n

Mosley said Hinders has given her good career and job interview advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely feel like I have more real-life professional knowledge rather than just academic,\u201d said Mosley. \u201cAnd I feel much more prepared in going in for job interviews.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greenwood has had Coulombe list and discuss her personal and professional values.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really got me to think about when I do enter the workforce what are some things I would like to get out of the job,\u201d Coulombe said. \u201cWhat sorts of positions am I going to feel fulfilled in and be happy and do my best work?\u201d<\/p>\n

Greenwood said students need to make sure their values match the job they pick or else it won\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you value family?\u201d he said. \u201cDo you value money over free time? Do you like working alone? Do you like high-stress situations? Do you want to help people less fortunate?\u201d<\/p>\n

The two have also discussed leadership qualities, what to look for in employer health care and other benefits, and a company\u2019s cost of employing people.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has to be able to convince that employer what the value is that she\u2019s going to bring to that organization,\u201d Greenwood said.<\/p>\n

The pilot program has been deemed successful and will be expanded to more CoLA students fall semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe absolutely want to recruit more students and mentors to grow the program,\u201d said Buckwalter.<\/p>\n

The deadline for applications from mentees is April 20. The deadline for mentors is June 8.\u00a0Information about the application process is available\u00a0on the College of Liberal Arts website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The College of Liberal Arts will expand mentoring program to more liberal arts students during the fall semester. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":51588,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,725,747,715,2061],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-home-news-sidebar","category-liberal-arts","category-news","category-undergraduate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51583"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68626,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51583\/revisions\/68626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}