On Oct. 1, The Career Development Center and Alumni Relations delivered a presentation on a new program called STAR mentoring. A total of around 60 people filled Salisbury Labs 406 at 6:30 to watch a powerpoint slide-show presented by CDC’s Connie Horwitz, giving the summary of STAR mentoring.
STAR mentoring allows students of WPI to get in touch with alumni and develop a connection that benefits both the student and alum. As of Oct. 1, there are currently 113 alumni in the system listed as mentors for students, and more and more are applying for mentorship every day. These alumni are extremely enthusiastic to give students wisdom and guidance they wish they had when they were in school. All of the majors are represented among the alums.
There are not many specific to Robotics or IMGD, but mechanical and computer science are good choices for those who have chosen the newest among the majors.    
Now these mentors are not specific to academics but are more like real life mentors. Do you have a mentor right now? Take a closer look at the word: The word mentor derives from “Mentor” who was chosen by his friend Odysseus to teach and protect his son. A mentor is anyone who you have looked up to, gone to advice for, or someone with whom you can just talk to about what is going on in your life. They provide guidance and wisdom. Ring any bells?  With the STAR program you are building your network and increasing the amount of people with whom you can go to help for.
The mentors associated with STAR mentoring have been through what we have been through at WPI and are about to go through; they already know the ins and outs. They also have made the mistakes we are about to make, and can guide us in a dilemma where we cannot decide what to do. STAR mentors are willing to provide a voluntary, long term, one to one relationship to offer insight, advice, and mutually agreed upon support for the student’s career development and personal growth.
Some things you can ask your mentor are how their career relates to their major; many of the top companies of the world have alums in this program and a chance to talk to them about their career is an opportunity that is quite rare. You can ask what they would have done differently if they were at WPI. Chances are that they have a plethora of tips and advice.
This is not a one way street. The alumni benefit from this as well. They get to know the students and become more attached to the campus they once lived at. The mentor becomes a coach to build a connection with, a sounding-board, and a chance to extend your network to the outside world and vice-versa. Perhaps one of the alumni may ask for your advice.
Developing a mentoring relationship is dependent on the function of communication. When communication is weak, the relationship is weak. If you do have trouble with organizing something like this, the CDC is here for you and is willing and able to give you some tips.
Selecting a mentor is quite easy. Just talk to the representatives at the CDC and they will instruct you on how to get in contact with the mentors. Even if you did not go to the meeting you can still become a part of this great community. E-mail the CDC at cdc@wpi.edu for any questions or concerns.