Mentors give time, expertise
Students benefit from generosity of professionals

By Jessica Cervantez
Staff Reporter

Mentors can benefit students who are willing to balance the time and effort to build lasting relationships, said Jeff Crane, assistant director of alumni relations.

Two programs at TCU that give students the opportunity to have a mentor are Student Foundation and the M.J. Neeley School of Business Shadow Program, which pairs upper-class business majors with professionals in the community, based on students’ majors or career preference.

Crane, who is also in charge of the mentor program for Student Foundation, said the goal of these mentor programs is to expose students to professionals in their field.

“The saying is true: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” he said.

Isa Pena, co-chairwoman of the Shadow program, said students receive guidance by having a mentor. If students are undecided about their career goals, a mentor can send them down the right path, she said.

“Dedication is the key,” Pena said. “Not only do you need the time to do it, you have to really want to do it.”

Crane said that although students benefit through having a mentor, a major downfall is time management.

“To tell the truth, I don’t think students have the time to have a mentor, but they should make the time,” he said. “I think students get trapped in TCU’s community and forget there’s more out there.”

Pena said having a mentor can affect each student in a different way.

Jeremiah Loeffler, a junior accounting and finance major, is a member of both the Student Foundation and Shadow program and has met with his mentor twice since the fall semester.

“He gives me reassurance,” Loeffler said. “He makes sure I’m heading in the right direction.”

Ceci Burton, a junior business management major, said the Shadow program introduced her to her mentor, David Mosby, owner of Meditex.

“It gave me a glimpse of what the real-life business world is like, and it helped me make a contact,” Burton said. “It is incredible to see how (businessman) interact with each other, and I got to be a part of it.”

Crane said the opportunity is there, but students have to be willing to cultivate relationships with their mentors.

“You have to ask yourself if it’s something you really want to do and put your time into,” he said.

Laura Miller, mentor and president of the alumni association, said she typically gets paired with either finance or management majors.

“Each student expects to get something different out of the program, Miller said. “Some students want it more than others.”

Josh Wall, a junior political science major and participant in the Student Foundation mentor program, said it’s not always easy to schedule meetings because of busy schedules.

“Sometimes it’s hard to physically meet,” Wall said. “But we correspond through e-mail regularly.”

Wall said the mentor program has influenced him to want to participate in it after he graduates.

“I would definitely want to become a mentor,” Wall said. “The one bad thing (with the mentor program) is there are not enough alumni willing to do it.”

Jessica Cervantez
j.s.cervantez@student.tcu.edu