Alumni Relations is hoping to provide students with an extra boost before graduation through the Alumni Career Mentor Program, which kicked off on Sept. 18. The program pairs students at all stages of their college careers with an alumni mentor that can help guide them during their journey.

Mentors and mentees are required to meet three times a semester—dubbed “Three Chats Over Coffee”—but more engagement is encouraged. In this low-pressure environment, students can get to know an Arcadia graduate in the professional world and conduct an informational interview with them to learn more about their career.

“This gives me an opportunity to come back to campus, even though I graduated over 25 years ago,” said mentor Ken Samen ’92, a compliance manager at an insurance agency. “I’m always impressed by how prepared Arcadia students are for entering the working world. I’ve had a lot of experiences in my career, and I like being able to share it with students.”

After students filled out a brief survey about their interests and career goals, they began “speed networking” with alumni, making connections and learning more about what may await after graduation.  

“This program is just the thing I needed,” said Caroline Jordan ’20. “I’ve been very stressed with finding internships and exploring what I’m going to do after college, so I think it’s going to help having someone to talk to about these kinds of things. This program makes it easy to build a professional connection with an alum, and I’m glad I’m able to participate.”