This is the first in a series of articles commemorating National Mentoring Month. Each Friday in January, the Daniels Newsroom will share the stories of students, faculty and alumni benefitting from mentorship.
A Daniels College of Business education is much more than what goes on in the classroom. The College’s network of 40,000 alumni spans all 50 U.S. states and 145 countries. Many can attribute their post-graduate success to the people who mentored them during and after their time at Daniels.
In recognition of National Mentoring Month, the Daniels Newsroom is highlighting some of the many ways students and alumni can mentor or be mentored by knowledgeable professionals.
Crimson Constellation
The University of Denver’s new platform offers ways for students to expand their “constellation of support”—an important pillar of DU’s 4D Experience.
Crimson Constellation is a free networking site that allows students, alumni, faculty and staff to connect with one another in a carefully curated environment. Think of it as LinkedIn where everyone is a 1st-level connection.
Users can explore career paths, acquire new skills, and prepare and apply for jobs. Most of all, they can build community with those who share their background, interests or other affiliations.
Department-specific mentorship programs
In addition to College- and University-wide resources, many Daniels departments offer their own mentorship programs, neatly tailored to their students.
- The Ann and David Hoffman Learning By Example, Attaining Distinction (LEAD) Mentorship Program is celebrating 15 years of connecting students from the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management with peer and professional mentors. First- and second-years are assigned peer mentors, while juniors and seniors lean on industry mentors to build crucial relationships and facilitate hands-on hospitality experiences.
- The Reiman School of Finance uses a short survey to match students with alumni for a highly individualized learning experience. Through regularly occurring check-ins, students gain access to the professional world.
- A two-tiered mentoring program provides students in the Department of Management with guidance and companionship in a major with a broader range of career paths than others.
- The Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management matches students with alumni in their preferred industry, most of whom are alumni.
- The School of Accountancy and Entrepreneurship@DU also offer mentorship opportunities to their students
Daniels Career Services
All Daniels students receive a lifetime of support from the College’s Career Services team, which offers tools, resources and engagement opportunities.
On its website, Daniels Career Services provides links to career fairs, company meet and greets, industry panels, and job boards through Pioneer Careers Online.
4D Peer Mentors
Some schools have orientation leaders. The University of Denver has 4D Peer Mentors, the 100-plus students who take on the challenge of welcoming more than 1,400 first-year students (plus transfers) to the DU campus every year.
Peer mentors act as guides and confidantes for first-year and transfer students every day during Discoveries Week, and then periodically throughout the fall quarter. Each peer mentor is assigned between 19 and 35 students, groups that also act as the students’ First-Year Seminar (FSEM) classmates.