WHY A MENTORING PROGRAM?
Many first-year engineering students are uncomfortable interacting with faculty and would benefit significantly from a mentor relationship with a professional with whom they have something in common. CIT alumni and females employed in the engineering field represent an ideal and credible resource for current first-year students to learn about career opportunities and to seek educational advice.

PROGRAM PURPOSE
The CIT First-Year Women in Engineering Mentor Program was established to foster relationships between female first-year students, alumni, and professional engineers. The emphasis of the program is on developing a supportive relationship, acquiring career guidance, benefiting from professional networking, building confidence, and gaining valuable academic advice. The primary purpose of mentoring is not to perform   internship or job prospecting. The intent of the program is for both the mentor and the mentee to benefit from the relationship that evolves.

Mentors and mentees might also consider sharing a meal, meeting on campus for a lecture, or attending an event together in order to cultivate the relationship. Throughout the year, there will be special mentoring events on or off campus to provide opportunities for the mentors to interact with mentees.

PROCESS
The CIT Mentor Program begins in the fall and lasts for one year. It is a voluntary program, provided as an opportunity for first-year students to make immediate connections with CIT alumni and professional female engineers. After the one year commitment between the student and the mentor, each pair can decide whether or not to continue the relationship.

First-year engineering students and professional individuals interested in the mentor program are carefully matched through the CIT Dean’s Office. Students who are chosen to benefit from the mentoring experience will be matched based on criteria, such as major, future career aspirations, personal interests, hobbies, and/or communication preference. Together, the mentor and mentee will determine how often and by what method(s) they will communicate and/or interact.

MENTOR EXPECTATIONS
Professional mentors are expected to:

• Meet and/or talk with the mentee at least three times each semester, via telephone, in-person, IM, and/or e-mail.
• Share insights from her own valuable experiences with the mentee
• Discuss the mentee’s future professional goals as related to major and/or career
• Offer advice and guidance on what a student should be doing while in college to better prepare them for the world of work in the field of engineering
• Complete a mentor assessment at the end of the academic year

STUDENT EXPECTATIONS
Student mentees are expected to:

• Initiate the relationship with the mentor and maintain regular contact via e-mail, phone, in-person, etc. based upon the mentor’s preference for contact frequency
• Clearly define her expectations from the relationship
• Promptly respond to the mentor and express her appreciation for their input and advice
• Seriously consider suggestions from her mentor
• Complete a mentor assessment at the end of the academic year

Students before meeting your mentor, take some time to think about what you hope to gain from the experience. Remember, your mentor can't read your mind. Mentors sometimes report that while a student was very likeable or impressive, the mentor wasn't sure what type of help the student needed. 

You should never ask the alumni mentor to locate you a job or internship. Occasionally, that is exactly what has happened, however, a student should not enter the alumni mentor experience with employment expectations. In addition, a mentor is not be used as a private tutoring fro your courses.  

It is your job to ask for the information that you seek. Recognize that you have
short term goals and long term goals. Perhaps you want to understand different
career paths, or how the mentor got involved in her particular career. You may want to ask about her daily work activities and duties, projects, rewarding or challenging aspects of her job, skills that are important to her field, and any advice she may have for you as a first-year students to get you closer to achieving your goals.

CONTACTS
All professional mentors and student mentees are asked to provide feedback on their experience in order to continue to improve the program, through a year end assessment. We also welcome comments and suggestions throughout the year

CIT Alumni Contact:
JoAnn Truchan (CIT Class of 1996, ChemE) at jtruchan@achd.net

CIT First-Year Student Contact:            
Pam Golubski at pam33@cmu.edu