After having left the executive search firm he founded in 1981, 凯莉·金卡农在寻找什么东西, 他知道他喜欢做导师. 年前, 他曾是德克萨斯州孩子们的导师, 他对帮助他人的兴趣依然强烈.
Around two years ago, he encountered Shenandoah University President Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D.他建议他联系 哈利F. 伯德,小. 商学院 迪安 英里K. 戴维斯, Ph.D. 他照做了, and helped kick off a then-new business school initiative, 由学生事务助理院长领导 弗里茨礼貌, Ph.D.: the Leadership and Mentoring Program, also known as LAMP. At the end of the spring 2017 semester, it included 32 mentors and 32 mentees. The program is open to graduate and undergraduate students throughout the university.
LAMP connects students with regional business leaders, providing a support system where ideas and professional experience can be exchanged in a nurturing and healthy environment.
In many cases, LAMP mentors are sounding boards who also make suggestions, while being supportive. “I listen very well,” said Kincannon, who has mentored two MBA students. “他们只是需要有人说说话,”他说. “Somebody who could provide objective, constructive advice.”
Participating in the program makes him feel terrific, 他说. He feels that his perspective, experience and knowledge aren’t going to waste. 而不是, they’re helping him offer something of value: honest, 支持援助, 不求任何回报.
温彻斯特市长大卫·史密斯, who is also an owner of Village Square Restaurant in Winchester, 由Dr. 在商学院顾问委员会会议上的礼貌. Although he had worked with young people in social service environments in the past, he had never acted as a mentor in ways related to his professional and civic life. “我不知道会发生什么,”他说.
What he found was a rewarding connection in which he often let a mentee talk out an issue with him and then find a solution on their own. Smith meets with his mentee twice a month in an informal way: sometimes at his business and sometimes at Rouss City Hall; he’s also invited his mentee to attend area civic meetings with him to better understand the community.
When David Baxa, chairman of VISTA Technology Services Inc. 在泰森角, who also serves on the business school advisory board, 谈到了他的学员, 他说, “我觉得我已经建立了一段友谊.” The pair meet monthly, with a recent meeting running two hours. Baxa鼓励他的学员, 谁是兼职MBA学生, 网络, 网络, 建立更多的关系网, to find a job that didn’t require a daily commute of two hours, 每一个方法.
他的学员找到了一份离家更近的新工作. And Baxa encourages him to learn as much as possible about the company. “I have encouraged him to take advantage of this experience,Baxa说。, who notes his mentee hopes to one day own his own business, so experience in many areas of business will be beneficial to him, because business owners must make judgements about a host of concerns.
His mentee said that Baxa “made sure that I hit the ground running from the very first day. Month after month he extended tasks that would further my career and broaden my 网络ing opportunities. As one of the tasks, I became a member of the Speechcraft group, which met weekly on campus. This six-week workshop enabled me to build my confidence, 说得更清楚些, 在面试中更有效率. I would recommend to every student in the LAMP program to participate in Speechcraft to improve their presentation, 面试和社交技巧.这名学员说,他建立了8个月的关系网, participated in 22 网络ing meetings (57 hours) and sent 26 emails to initially connect with people.
这个项目的另一个MBA学生, Casey Edsall, 16岁, ’18, said he “decided to participate in the program because I think it is very important to ask industry professionals how 网络 and make yourself marketable when transitioning from school to the workforce. All of the mentors are very reputable and are able to give good tips and advice to students so I wanted to be able to have someone to work with and help me in the transition from school to the workforce and beyond.在这个项目中,埃德萨尔有两位导师, with his second being Darlene Kent with Signet Marketing in Winchester, 他从一月份开始和他一起工作.
“I think the connection with my mentor will persist after graduation,” 他说. “We have established a good relationship and feel that we will continue to be connected after I move on from Shenandoah.”
And, Edsall intends to pay it forward with the LAMP program. “未来,我希望自己也能成为LAMP的一名导师. I think it is imperative for students to have a mentor who can guide and assist with the transition from school to work. My mentor has truly helped me, and I want to help a future student the way she has helped me.”