Tuesday, May 4th, 2016 the Gustavus Mentoring Program had its annual Banquet. The mentoring program started in 2009.

Many Gusties have taken advantage of the program to gain insight from experienced adults in the fields they are looking to go into after graduation.

Every year the mentoring program runs officially from October to May. The program starts with a kickoff event up in the Twin Cities for mentee and mentors to meet face-to-face, and to get to know each other a bit.

Beforehand, mentees pick their mentors through a program that allows them to match interests and needs.

“This past fall all the mentees were able to pick their mentor online seeing the mentors’ majors and current professions that matched with the mentees needs/interests. I picked my mentor because she was a psychology major who made her way into the business world. She had similar interests and went through similar challenges, so it was a great match,” Hannah Erickson said.

Then in the spring, they have a banquet to bring everyone back to campus and celebrate the program and the relationships it’s developed over the past year.

Last night’s banquet featured a social hour, dinner, and then a talk from Paul Batz, a 1985 Gustavus graduate and founder/leader of Good Leadership  Enterprises.

Paul is one of the founders of the Mentor Program along with Professor Kathi Tunheim and Scott Anderson, CEO of Patterson Companies.

All in all there were approximately 140 people in attendance at the banquet.

When the program isn’t running, Director of Mentoring and Peer Education, Amy Pehrson, is busy recruiting mentors to join the program.

The current goal of the program is to have the program available to every junior and senior, who is interested, by 2020.

Students also help lead the program, organize events, and work to improve it for the future. Student leaders this past year included Senior Jack Anderson, Senior  Andrew Brandt,  Senior McKayla Murphy,  Junior Lydia Kennedy, and Morgan Field ‘15.

“The mentoring program gave me the opportunity to connect with an alumni who passionately took the time out of her day to help me get a competitive job this summer,” Julia Rydberg said.

The program runs on the values of discovery, integration, and authenticity. The goals of the program are to create long lasting relationships between the mentors and mentees, develop personal and professional growth for both, and help students achieve and discover their goals for the future and the present.

The mentoring program hopes mentees will come out of the program feeling proud of their achievements and respect for the program and it’s goals.

“I have been in the mentoring program for two years now and this year’s banquet was a great way to wrap up the year. We were treated to an inspirational speech from Paul Batz ‘85 and met with our mentors.  I have realized the power of the Gustavus alumni network and am grateful to be able to benefit from their wisdom and experience. My mentor this year, Sarah Stanek ‘14, is one of the first people to cycle through the program, first being mentored as a student and then becoming a mentor as an alum. I feel I have made valuable connections through the program and hope to eventually become a mentor as well,” Communications Studies major and Junior Karena Baldwin said.