One of the most valuable services offered here at Fanshawe College is the Mentoring for Success program, available to students in every program at the school. The program matches interested students with professionals in their field in order to provide invaluable insight and support in their field of study.

The program is coordinated by Carolyn McCabe in K1011, and is free for any student in the college.

“It's a program for all students of all programs of the college to meet with a more experienced individual in the field who can lend guidance and advice,” McCabe explained. “It's a great networking opportunity, first and foremost — and everyone knows that networking is key these days — but more than just saying that, it's a great way to practice networking, too, and to understand what networking really is, because ... there's a lot of misconception.”

McCabe further explained mentoring can be beneficial for young students, the “mentees,” beyond simply expanding their contacts in their desired field — it's also a great opportunity to learn from someone who has been through the same challenges and found their niche. Through the program, you gain insider knowledge, and the importance of setting a realistic career path for yourself early in post-secondary study.

In addition to the matching process — which is conducted by McCabe herself through personal interviews — Mentoring for Success hosts a handful of career development events through the school year, both on campus and off, with the goal of furthering the skill sets of those participating. These range in topic and scope, but in essence are interactive networking events intended for the development of career and interpersonal skills.

“Dining etiquette is one that we will have again this year, it's a very popular one,” she smiled. “It's fun but it's informative. The presenters are really good, and it's really just shedding light on what are proper manners … manners that may be applicable in a work setting when you're going out for a client lunch or a work lunch. In any kind of field, you often have social settings where food and drinks are involved.

“We also always have mock interviews, and that's a really popular one,” McCabe continued. “It's kind of like ‘speed interviewing' where we have volunteer mentors who have recruiting experience in a variety of fields. People interview with a mentor for five minutes, and then they get up, and they move to the next one. Each mentor provides immediate feedback, things (mentees) could improve on or quickly tweak, or to do for the future.”

This is only a small selection of what Mentoring for Success can offer to participants, and all thanks to McCabe's hard work and passion for career development. Most importantly, however, she stressed you will only get out of the program what you put into it; matches and meetings are driven by the mentee, so preparation and research is crucial to success in the program.

Mentoring for Success requires a minimum commitment of two hours of contact per month, for a six-month placement. The program is available to Fanshawe students up to five years after they've graduated — at which point the hope is that students will then choose to become mentors themselves.

“It's open to students who are motivated, committed, but as well have a good sense of what they want to learn. And you can sign up all year round — at the end of the day, it's a fairly simple program.”

For more information or to contact McCabe, search for Mentoring for Success on Facebook or visit mentoringforsuccess.ca.