Celebrating National Mentors Month

Mentoring is a critical experience that supports the career growth and success of any student. Brown University conducted a study “School-Based Mentoring Relationships and Human Capital Formation,” that found that “benefits (of mentoring) are evident for students across a wide range of background but are largest for students of lower socioeconomic status.” NAF seeks to fill this gap for students, especially those from backgrounds that are classified as marginalized, in finding opportunities to better their future success.

In NAF’s quest to help high school students #BeFutureReady, NAF celebrates National Mentoring Month through providing more mentorship opportunities at every level of NAF, from our Advisory Boards to our academies, and our alumni network. We are excited to announce our Alumni Mentorship program and the use of mentorship to complete an alternative internship credit for academy students.

NAF’s Alumni Mentorship program first started as a small pilot in 2021, and has kicked off into a cross-country virtual experience, allowing a NAF alumnus that is college-age to meet an experienced NAF alumnus and gain career knowledge, no matter where they are in the United States. This program expanded in the 2021-2022 school year, with thirty-four alumni across the country meeting once a month to share knowledge and advice about life and career.

Kamran Ahmed, an Academy of Finance 2020 alumnus, spoke on his mentee experience, saying, “I wanted to participate in the NAF mentoring program because I knew it would be a great way for me to connect with those in a similar career.” He reflected much about how his mentor has benefited him in that he, “not only {gains} tips and guidance for the job world, but a friend as well.” His mentor, Elisabeth Vosburgh, an Academy of Finance 2017 alumnus, spoke highly of the program saying, “One reason I wanted to join the NAF mentorship program is to continue to stay connected and involved with NAF since it’s such a great community!”  See more Alumni Mentorship program testimonials from participants here that speak to the benefits of mentorship and being part of NAF’s mentor program.

NAF now allows for mentorship projects to be an alternative to internship credit. These mentored industry projects allow students to connect learning in the classroom to the world of work, while receiving feedback from their mentor during the duration of the project. Mentored industry projects allow for deeper learning through more frequent student and mentor check-ins, focused project outcomes on challenges/topics that affect their local area, and personalized internship assessments. Keep an eye out for additional resources and planning sessions for this project implementation that will be available Spring 2022 and NAF Next 2022. If you have any questions, please reach out to your Portfolio Manager or here with any questions or to brainstorm these projects in your academy.

For those interested in infusing mentorship into their academies, use these resources to start a mentor program, see more resources, and the benefits of in-school mentoring.

If you are a NAF alumnus interested in joining the NAF Alumni Mentorship Program wanting to be a mentor, please fill out this form. If you are college-aged NAF alumnus, who would like to be a mentee, fill out this form. For questions about the NAF Alumni Mentorship program, please contact Susan Climan at scliman@naf.org.