General Information
Feedback on what students and alumni would like to see from the office of alumni relations has been unanimously in favor of establishing a mentor program. Mentoring can generally be defined as a caring relationship where one person invests time and effort into enhancing another person's growth, knowledge, and skills. The mentor responds to critical needs in the life of that person in ways that prepare the individual for greater productivity or achievement in the future.
Specifically, the goals of the mentor program are:
To advance the interests of special groups and populations
To provide an opportunity to learn from the mentor's particular experiences, personal insights, knowledge, and know-how
To develop a network of contacts that keep practitioners abreast of industry changes and natural health science updates
To provide a graduating student with the needed help in further defining their personal career and other developmental objectives
To help individuals reach their full potential
To provide increased access to technical, administrative, and CAM practice leaders
To provide a chance for a graduating student to test their ideas, tactics, and strategies in a friendly forum
Mentoring adds an extra or special dimension to a helping relationship; one that tends to be unconditional and about as pure as anything in human affairs can be. But it is precisely because both participants are free from the burden of duty and obligation that their imaginations can soar. The mentor experiences the unalloyed joys of seeing a friend succeed at his or her chosen goal, and the graduating student experiences the joys of achieving success!
Project Description
The Bastyr mentor program defines the mentoring relationship between Bastyr University graduating students and Bastyr University alumni mentors as a partnership. Each participant has a role, and that mutual investment is required in order to attain mutual gain. However, the program is driven by the graduating student, as opposed to the mentor, and participation is voluntary on both sides.
Each participating graduating student will be assigned an alum that has graduated from the same Bastyr program and preferably practicing in the geographical area of interest to the graduating student.
Students will have the opportunity to request a mentor from the alumni list.
The mentor/graduating student relationship will be on a one-to-one basis.
Students will be trained by the alumni relations department on how be an effective graduating student.
Alumni will be educated by the alumni relations department on how be an effective mentor.
Students will be required to attend all mentor meetings.
The alumni department will provide students with interview forms to be used when contacting mentors.
The goal is to have each student get answers from their mentor to each question on the form.
Additional questions and/or conversations outside of those on the interview form are to be at the discretion of the mentor.
The forms will be collected at the end of the mentor term, analyzed, and summarized by the managing department.
Data will remain available to the Bastyr University faculty, staff, alumni, and students via the managing department and eventually the Bastyr career center.
Continuation of the student / mentor relationship beyond the mentor program term is at the discretion of the mentor.
Program Terms
2003 grads: October 4, 2002 - June 6, 2003
Program Manager
The Mentor program will be developed and managed by Office of Alumni Relations.
Location
Coordination of the program will be handled out of the Alumni Relations. Meetings with the department and students will be held in various locations throughout the university and will be announced via the Pulse by the managing department. Mentors (alumni) should refer to the alumni department for all program questions / concerns / comments.
Mentor Contact
Participating students will be instructed to respect the time limitations of the mentor by keeping phone calls to a 20-30 minute conversation on a bi-monthly basis. Mentors have the option of offering flexibility with this "rule". Frequency of communication will be determined by ability to obtain feedback / answers to the interview questions.
