By Marion Crawford
It might seem impossible to get a hold of Kevin Rollins, the CEO of Dell, Inc. or Major League Baseball Player, Dale Murphy, for some advice on how to jump-start your career.
But after two years of hard work, BYU graduate, Patrick Tedjamulia along with his team has made it possible to gain access to people like them.
They created The International Mentoring Network, a Web site based organization that helps students get a hold of individuals in any field for career advice.
Tedjamulia along with his two associates, BYU graduate Chris Deaver and current BYU student Jetmir Hysi majoring in Information Technology, tinkered with logos, created advisory boards and spent endless hours networking to get just the right interviews to post on http://www. imno.org.
They wanted to create a site that allows mentors to communicate with students without compromising their privacy, Tedjamulia said.
IMNO has conducted close to a hundred interviews with professionals in many different career fields, with the transcripts posted on the Web site. Members can then post questions to the mentors on a question and answer board, Tedjamulia said.
'I just liked the concept and the opportunity for people to express a desire to keep serving,' said Dale Murphy, former Major League Baseball player for the Atlanta Braves. 'It''s a great way to be of service to others.'
Murphy was also a mission president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Boston Massachusetts Mission from 1997 to 2000 and said that he believes something like this is a great way to help return missionaries get connected with service.
'There''s more to life than just punching in or punching out,' he said. 'No matter what you do, you need the opportunity to expand on it and help others.'
Another mentor is BYU graduate Nicole Riding. She played the part of Eponine in the Broadway National Tour touring company of Les Miserables. Riding said she decided to become a mentor because she wishes she had the opportunity to read a successful LDS actress'' story online when she was in school.
'I looked-up to the BYU alumni who went before me and made it on Broadway. If interviews were available, I would''ve definitely read them,' she said.
Tedjamulia said he got many of his contacts through his current employment at Novell. His own personal networking allowed him to get through to other contacts.
'I just want to help everyone else get in the door, too,' he said.