Students will encounter obstacles, career opportunities and life choices during their college career. Some undergraduates choose to experience it alone, while others seek out guidance from mentors on campus and elsewhere.
According to USA Today, approximately 50 percent of college graduates report having a mentor in college. Although the definition of a mentor may change with each individual’s perspective, the concept remains the same. Experienced mentors strive to establish a relationship with their less-experienced mentees that will lead to a better life for the mentee.
“A lot of people have served as mentors for me, and without those people my career plan would have broken down,” David Bailey, a graduate student in finance, said. “I wouldn’t have known how to make it to the next step.”
Bailey found his first mentor at his high school in Chattanooga, Tenn. Edward Snodgrass lead an investment fund at his high school that Bailey was involved in. His experience with the organization helped spark his interest in finance.
Through this relationship, Bailey said he was able to get an internship in Atlanta, Ga., with the Gray Matters Capital Foundation after Snodgrass helped convince the company Bailey was worthy of an internship. Here, he developed a relationship with the founder of the company, Bob Pattillo, who also became a mentor to Bailey.
Bailey said the greatest advantage of having a mentor is gaining confidence. He said Pattillo made him go to conferences in Atlanta, Ga., and meet with multi-millionaire entrepreneurs when he was only 19.
“After that whole experience, I was a much better person,” Bailey said. “I grew in that one-hour experience.”
As an incoming freshman at The University of Alabama, Bailey was accepted into the University Fellows Experience, which provides members with mentoring by top UA faculty members. University Fellows paired him with Barry Mason, a former dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University.
(See also “Mentor program puts learning in students’ hands”)
Bailey, the CEO of Forza Financial, said he looks to Mason for more than just business advice.
“Sometimes I had tough situations, and I really want to respond to it emotionally and head on,” Bailey said. “Someone with wisdom advised me to do things the right way.”
Although, some students seek mentors in older faculty and staff members at the University, some look to upperclassmen for guidance throughout their time at the Capstone.
Katy Shirley, a senior majoring in chemical engineering, is a mentor to underclassmen in the Mentor Undergraduate Peer Parenting, a mentoring program within the UA College of Engineering that provides underclassmen with upperclassmen peers. Shirley said the program was mutually beneficial for her and her mentee.
“I thought it was a great opportunity for not only me, but for those that I was getting to mentor,” Shirley said.
She said she wished she had that opportunity when she was a freshman.
“I would have liked to have someone who I could look up to and give me advice on what classes and teachers to take,” Shirley said.
Evan Odom, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, started participating in the Mentor UPP program in fall 2010.
“They should make it a part of all the freshman’s curriculum to have mentors,” Odom said. “Mentor UPP is a good way to guide to students after orientation.”
Bailey, Odom and Shirley all agreed everyone could benefit from a positive mentor/mentee relationship.
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