Andrea Flores EDINBURG- A new mentoring program will be offered at UTRGV for students seeking guidance with their career paths. The Career Center will use Vaquero Connect, a platform designed to connect the UTRGV community through networking, to launch the Career Mentoring Program on Sept. 13. The Career Mentoring Program will connect students with alumni, who will serve as mentors, whose professional experience is related to the student’s educational field of interest.
Damian Ramirez, program specialist for career engagement, the program is not just for undergraduate students but for graduate and doctoral students as well.
“So, there’s still value when it comes to a graduate student joining, a doctoral student joining because at the end, these alumni or you know, these friends of the community actually are on the field already,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez said as a mentor, you gain coaching skills and are able to share your knowledge, successes and mistakes. This will help students learn the do’s and don’ts in their field of interest.
Kamara Jackson, Career Center director, said alumni have great experiences to bring to the table as mentors for the program.
“A lot of them are first generation and so there is this common denominator. They’re able to speak to a kind of from a very personal space when communicating with students,” said Jackson. “And they do have degrees and experiences that allow them to be very effective listeners, and most importantly being able to be compassionate and understand that sometimes those barriers keep students from moving forward.”
According to Ramirez, the program has more than 200 users signed up as of Sept. 5, including students, alumni, friends of the community, staff and faculty.
The semester long program will take place from September to December with monthly meetings between mentors and students.
To find out more information about the Career Center or sign up for the mentoring program, visit the Vaquero Connect platform through the UTRGV Career Center webpage at utrgv.edu/careercenter.
