By Jessica Forsyth
A unique mentoring program in the Marriott School of business provides students with the opportunity to interact with professionals in their distinct fields of study.
Business Management 321 is a required course for all business undergraduates. The purpose of the course is for business students to learn how to interact with professionals in their perspective fields, improve their interviewing skills and plan for the future.
Each student selects a mentor who they will contact at least twice throughout the semester. The student is required to perform a mock interview with their mentor and complete one other project of their choice.
Beyond the two required assignments for the course, students take from this experience as much or as little as they choose, said Robert G. Gardner, mentor program director.
'Some students do a great job of building a nice relationship with their mentor and starting to build their own professional network developing an opportunity to gain some honest feedback from someone who''s out there in the industry,' Gardner said.
Students also enjoy the course and find it beneficial, he said.
All students have goals to be accepted into their major, said Scott Ellenburg, 22, a junior from Rocklin, Calif., majoring in finance. However, once they have been accepted, they do not have many follow-up goals.
He said a mentor can give students the direction they need as they begin their professional pursuits.
Ellenburg, for example, said he was unsure about whether he should earn an MBA.
'My mentor got me pumped up to further my education ... and get my MBA,' he said.
When the semester begins, students choose their own mentor from a group of 800 volunteers consisting mainly of BYU alumni. Many of the mentors are out-of-state and are contacted through e-mail or phone.
Students try to choose a mentor who is in their perspective fields of business.
Katie Preston, 20, a sophomore from Bountiful, is majoring in information systems, a rare field for a woman. She chose a female computer consultant to be her mentor to have the unique perspective of a woman thriving in a mainly male-dominated field.
'I was able to talk to her about work issues, but also spiritual issues and how she intermingles both lives,' Preston said. 'It gave me a lot of insight.'
Preston said she plans to later become a mentor herself so she will be able to help a woman who wants to have the chance to learn as she did from the program.
Gardner said the number of mentors have grown since the program was first established; the majority of mentors and students find the program to be a great learning experience and beneficial to both parties.