Making Mentorship Work for You @ChathamU
January is National Mentoring Month, a month centered around celebrating and fostering mentorships on the personal and professional levels. In celebration, we sat down with Katie Thoma, Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement and head of Chatham’s mentorship programs, Welcome Aboard and Chatham Connect, to learn more about the many benefits students can gain from joining them.
Katie Thoma: Assistant Director of Alumni Relations
(she/her)
What is the Welcome Aboard program?
Katie Thoma: “Welcome Aboard is a nine-month formal mentorship program. It starts in August and ends in April, and it’s targeted towards our first-year and transfer students. It provides a support system outside of their friends and family as they transition to Chatham and college. A lot of these students aren’t local to Pittsburgh, so the mentors we focus on recruiting for the program are our local Pittsburgh alumni that can help them learn about living in the city. Each month our mentors and mentee meet and focus on a certain area both personally and professionally.”
Welcome Aboard Success Story: Christina Sahovey ‘11, a long-term mentor in the Welcome Aboard program, secured her mentor, Zoe Levine ’21 an internship at the Holocaust Center, where Christina works, two years after Zoe had completed the program.
A student and a mentor share lunch at the start of the 2019/2020 Welcome Aboard program
How does Chatham Connect work?
KT: “Chatham Connect is our new virtual mentorship program that is open to all alumni and students, both undergraduate and graduate, to connect for casual conversations with one another. Students are able to join and go through some quick sign-up questions to help pair them up depending on their interests and needs. It can vary from looking for a job to looking for a connection in a new city. Once students complete the survey, the algorithm gives them some matches for mentors. They can connect with them however they wish such as sending a message or setting up a meeting. Students also have the ability to use the platform to find their own mentors. The Chatham Connect platform has no formal timeline, it’s really there for when the students need support, there’s no long-term commitment.”
Chatham Connect Success Story: “Chatham Connect has helped me meet absolutely wonderful people all around Pittsburgh and even out of state. The advice they have given me is more than I could ever ask for. You never know what person you will meet on Chatham Connect that might have an impact on your future. So absolutely yes, I recommend joining and exploring the platform to see all that it has to offer.”
-Ashley Pesarsick ‘24
Learn more about the program and discover more success stories
What are the benefits of using these programs?
KT: “Having an outside individual that doesn’t have a personal connection to your decisions is really beneficial. A mentor is really just listening to the problem at hand and giving you an unbiased opinion to help you. Another great benefit is once you are connected to your mentor, you are also connecting to their network. A lot of our Welcome Aboard mentors end up reaching out to their mentees for internship and job opportunities in their networks. A mentor is also a resource for life. They can be a reference for a resume, help you with a career change, or help with a move. I think there is often a misconception with mentorship that it is just to get a job, but there is much more to mentoring than just networking. It’s someone to turn to if you have a question.”
A student’s mentor shares advice at the end-of-the-year celebration for the 2018/2019 Welcome Aboard program
What advice would you GIve to a student who is nervous about seeking out a mentor?
KT: “The alumni that are offered to you through these programs have said yes before even getting to know you. Our alumni are very passionate about supporting students’ academic and professional goals. This is a unique benefit of going to a university like Chatham. At bigger institutions, I don’t know that these connections happen as much. That’s just a part of who we are, a community-based institution supported by alumni who used to walk in the same shoes as the current students.”
What keeps you passionate about providing mentorship opportunities for Chatham students?
KT: “I have had so many mentors in my life that I still reach back to for support today. Having individuals outside of my life who can help me make objective decisions has played a huge role in my personal and professional life. I think that’s what has made me so passionate about this work, I so wish as a college student that I had these opportunities like the Welcome Aboard and Chatham Connect programs as well as the mentorship events that we put on. They truly help you get further in life.”
Ready to try out mentorship? Check out Speed Mentoring Night on Wednesday January 26th, a one-night event where students will have the opportunity to sit down with various Chatham alumni in 15-minute sessions to ask questions and gain invaluable insights.