In the fall of 2018, Purdue IE matched ten undergraduate and six graduate students with IE alumni mentors. What surprised everyone was that many of the alumni mentors described the program as "two-way mentoring" – that they were getting as much out of the relationship as the students.

"Many, many IE alumni are interested in being more involved and giving back something to the school – and this mentoring program is a great opportunity for them to do just that," said Steve Duket, managing director of Purdue IE. "It also delivered to the alumni what they consider to be extremely valuable insights into the future generation of IEs." 

Duket explained that Purdue IE started this program when it realized that "most students were yearning for the type of wisdom, insight, and perspective that alumni could provide, and alumni were looking for alternate ways to give back and reconnect with the School and with Purdue."

"The program exceeded my expectations," said Tom Benes (BSIE 1975, MSIE 1976), President & CEO of Forum Purchasing LLC. He volunteered to be an alum mentor to be able to learn from and about today's students, to give back to the School of Industrial Engineering, and to help students prepare for life after Purdue.

Steven Dumbauld, MD (and BSIE 1972), had similar reasons for volunteering to be a mentor, and benefitted in similar ways. "I have learned more about the education and business culture of the millennial student," he said. "She has helped me look at problems and human interaction from a different perspective. She has energized my desire to look for new resources in the fields of engineering and medicine."

Jerry Alberts, chief development officer, added that Purdue IE wanted such a program to motivate students to develop leadership, receive objective advice, and promote professional growth. 

The idea began in the spring of 2017 when two undergraduate students, Annika Mabe and Pam Yuan, contacted IE staff members Jerry Alberts, chief development officer, and Dave Kotterman, industry relations director. They began brainstorming and formed what became the IE Student-Alumni Mentoring Initiative team. The team concluded that the most enriching mentoring experience for the students would come from one-on-one interactions, so decided to link interested students and alumni in a limited pilot program. They worked with the main undergraduate IE student organization, the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE). They launched an undergraduate-alumni mentoring program in the Fall 2017 semester with four mentoring teams, which grew to six mentoring teams in the Spring 2018 semester.

When Alberts spoke at a graduate seminar in April 2018 about the mentoring program, IE graduate students asked him if they could have a mentoring program, too. Alberts and Anita Park, graduate program specialist, began to work on the idea with the IE Graduate Student Organization (IEGSO).

By the time the Fall 2018 semester started, there were six graduate and ten undergraduate mentoring teams in the program. And interest continues to grow.

Early each semester, students apply, and IE staff pair those selected with alumni mentors. Each mentor-mentee pair meets by phone for 30 minutes per week most of the semester, discussing suggested topics and more. Mentors and mentees discuss "impact" of the program in the final call, including how the mentee changed, what they learned from the experience and what they planned to implement.

"We wanted to open a dialogue between alumni and current students for alumni to give advice and the students to give their perspective," said Alberts. "This style of mentoring closes the knowledge gap for both parties and brings different employee generations closer together."

The IE Student-Alumni Mentoring Initiative team won a Staff Excellence Award from the College of Engineering for its initiative and was honored at a banquet on December 14. Team members are: Jerry Alberts, Chief Development Officer; Elizabeth Allum, Senior Academic Advisor; Pat Brunese, Director of Academic Programs; Dave Kotterman, Industry Relations Director; Morgan Kuryla, Academic Advisor; Anita Park, Graduate Program Specialist; Phil Waclawik, Director of Development; and Annika Mabe, undergraduate student and IISE Student Chapter Vice President. They received a plaque with the inscription: "For their efforts to establish a sustainable student-alumni experience with meaningful interactions associated with one-on-one mentorship opportunities, outreach to student organizations and in-class presentations and projects that are universally accepted by all areas within the School of Industrial Engineering."

Students are enthusiastic about the program as well. "My mentor has given me a good amount of insights into work-life balance, how to efficiently lead a team, deal with conflicts and changes in workplace, technology used in workplace, adjusting to the needs of a full-time job, efficient ways to progress in my career and how to politely deal with various executive management issues," said one participant. "He also guided me on how to approach job interviews and even suggested a few ideas to include in my presentation during one of my interviews."

"I was happy to be tagged to a mentor who had over four decades of work experience in the industry that I wish to build my career in," said another student. "I also received a lot of support and guidance to my specific questions on how to approach interviews, accept an offer and prioritize among conflicting interests. There was also the added advantage of asking questions without the fear of being judged. Overall, it was an excellent experience."

Besides involving alumni in the mentoring program, Alberts would like alumni to give back to the School of Industrial Engineering by speaking to IE classes and interacting with Capstone project teams. Interested alumni should contact him at jlalberts@prf.org or 765-496-6192.

Writer: DeEtte Starr, starrd@purdue.edu

Sources: Jerry Alberts, jlalberts@prf.org, Dave Kotterman dkotter@purdue.edu