QUEST Corporate launched a brand new alumni mentorship program last year to overwhelming success. Now in its second iteration, the program pairs current QUEST students with QUEST alumni in a one-on-one mentoring relationship.
“I LOVE Jess! We’re so similar and had a great first convo 🙂 Thank you for the pairing!” Jules Parra (Cohort 35) wrote in a feedback form after meeting with her new mentor, Jess Prom (Cohort 15), for the first time last month. When Parra and her mentor met, their relationship came so naturally, bonding over their career interests, QUEST experiences, and philanthropy. The hour that they scheduled went by before they knew it, and they were both ecstatic to see each other again. It is one of three meetings that they are required to conduct formally. However, based on their first two meetings, it sounds like this pair will have many more than that.
Jules Parra (Cohort 35)
It’s no wonder why their relationship went so well. Ally Merwitz (Cohort 33) and QUEST’s Assistant Director, Jess Roffe, spent hours figuring out the perfect pairs for the 40+ students in the program over winter break. Students from every active cohort filled out the form at the end of last semester to apply for a mentor, which included asking them questions about their major, career, personal interests, and hobbies. Merwitz and Roffe then determined which alum would be a perfect match for each student. They repeat this process every year because every student gets a new mentor, even if they participated in the program before. After a meeting establishing the outline of a good mentorship relationship, Merwitz introduced each pairing and left it to each mentee to set up their first meeting. After every meeting, QUEST Corporate gets feedback from the students, confirming that they had their meeting and learning about how the relationship is going.
Feedback from students about the mentorship program
When asked about why she became a mentor, Prom said, “I don’t often get the chance to meet driven young professionals heading into their career.” She talked about how she not only enjoys seeing others develop but participating also helps with her own personal development. This aligns perfectly with the mission behind the program which stemmed from the quote: “A mentor is someone who talks with you about your career, goals, plans, and aspirations. They help you refine your plan, suggest people you should talk to, opportunities you should partake in, and obstacles you should be aware of. Mentors usually take on two major roles. They help with your career and with the psycho-social needs such as motivating and inspiring you toward your next milestone or goal. Mentors can also recommend other people who should be on your mentoring team. This is a long-term relationship often continuing for years or even a lifetime.”
The beauty of this program is that it is based on the alumni in the QUEST community giving back to the current QUEST students. It is what QUEST is all about, creating a community of smart, driven people who always have each others’ backs. Thank you so much to all of the alumni who are participating in the program this year!