January 2001

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Maleah Whittington, left, a junior in the advertising sequence, talks with Birshari Cox (AB '91) of Tek Solutions Inc. during the recent JAFA Career Mentor reception in Carroll Hall.

Career Mentor reception a big success

Informal setting brings students, alumni together

Photo by Emily Netzel

When Joe Sanders was a student at the School in 1969, faculty members were about the only sources available to help students prepare résumés and line up jobs after graduation. Thirty-one years later, the owner of Sanders Communications & Marketing said the resources for students are much more extensive than he remembered.

"When I was there, you took the courses, and if you were lucky and the faculty thought you were a good student, you could use their connections to help find a summer job. But we didn’t have internships," Sanders said. "Now every senior that I’ve seen from the School has a professional looking résumé."

Sanders was so impressed that he welcomed the opportunity recently to be a resource himself as part of the 11th-annual Journalism Alumni and Friends Association (JAFA) Career Mentor Program. Eighty-eight students and alumni shared résumé advice, ideas and career goals at the program’s reception, held Nov. 16 in the Freedom Forum Conference Center in Carroll Hall. The event provided a relaxed, social atmosphere for students to talk with professionals in their chosen fields.

"I think the program went very well," said Jay Eubank, the School’s director of career services. "I feel like students understood what the program was about and what they could gain from it."

Recognizing that alumni are an important resource for students seeking work experience or professional advice, the mentor program builds on the relationship between alumni and the School and offers a window for students to get a first-hand look at the real world.

Eubank, who has worked with the program for five years, said the network of professionals willing to help students is impressive.

"There are so many alumni and friends that want to help, but you have to reach out to them," he said.

JAFA President Seth Effron (AB ‘74) has participated in the program as a mentor for several years.

"The mentor program offers a unique opportunity for alumni who are working professionals and students who will soon be entering the workforce to get together and talk about that kind of transition," Effron said.

One of the values of the program, he said, was the nature of the students involved.

"The great thing about the School is that the students are assertive and curious, not only about their studies but about where they want to go in their potential careers," he said. "I think this is what makes the program attractive to mentors as well."

Effron sends letters to alumni living in the Triangle area about two months before the reception inviting them to participate in the program as mentors. Students apply to participate in the program through the School’s career services office and are paired with alumni who work in their fields of interest.

Trisha McGuire, a senior in the public relations sequence from Charlotte, has participated in the program for the past two years. She said mentors were eager to offer their resources to students.

"They really seemed to want to help in any way that they could," she said. "One lady offered to help me with a contact in New York if that is where I decide to go when I graduate."

Jennifer Lamb, the School’s assistant dean for development and alumni affairs, said she was impressed with the attendance at the reception.

"Students and alumni were still there at 8:30 p.m.," she said. "Given that the event was supposed to be from 6 to 8 p.m., I think this says a lot."

Effron said now that this year’s reception is over, the success of the program ultimately lies with the students.

"In the end, its up to the students to determine the true success of the program by what they take away from it," he said.

Jenny St. Clair is a senior in the public relations sequence.