The Beta Chapter at Ohio State University held their first Alumni Mentorship Program meeting at the end of September. The collegiate chapter was joined by 15 alumni with expertise in different industries including agriculture, business, engineering and more.
Brother Lewis Stearns, an alumnus who serves on the Beta Chapter Alumni Board, and collegiate brothers Andrew Flax and Will Harrison, VNR-Alumni Relations, helped organize the program and the first in-person meeting that kicked off the program.
“We talked about it a lot when we were [undergrads], that we're not only a social fraternity, but a professional fraternity, and I just felt like we talked about it, but we never really did a lot with it,” Brother Stearns said.
When he joined the alumni board nearly five years ago, Brother Stearns had made it one of his goals to create a program that put alumni directly in contact with collegiate members. Interest in the same kind of program by Brother Will Harrison helped kick off the planning, as well as the Top Leaders Institute hosted by the National Fraternity. When the Home Office Staff and volunteer leaders began sharing more ways for chapters to host mentorship events, it gave Beta Chapter the tools it needed to start their own mentorship program.
Brother Flax reached out to Regional Vice President, Brother Mike Estadt, who is also a Beta Chapter alumnus, to gather more information on how to host a successful mentorship program.
Collegiate brothers at Beta Chapter received a survey over what industries or careers they were interested in. Once ten industries were selected, the brothers got to pick their focus. Most groups were made up of five or six brothers. Each group was assigned one alumnus based on their expertise.
Brother Flax had put together a list of more than 50 alumni who they believed would be a good fit for these groups. They then narrowed it down to the 15 who are currently serving as mentors and have kept a list of others to fill in as needed or to use later if an alumnus can no longer serve as a mentor.
“I did not call a single person who said that they weren't able to do the mentorship,” Brother Flax said.
Brother Stearns explained that the alumni were free to conduct their meetings how they pleased. Some alumni let the collegiate members lead the conversation, while others created curriculums for their groups to follow. This allows alumni to fit the program to their schedule better, depending on work, family, and other personal commitments.
I did not call a single person who said that they weren't able to do the mentorship.
Brother Flax said some groups met for a half hour, while some met for an hour. After the meetings were over, collegiates and alumni were able to mingle for a social hour. This kick-off event served as the first formal meeting of the program, which will occur on a semester basis, where alumni and collegiates meet in person. Beyond this, some groups will meet via a phone call or on video calls more frequently, and several alumni shared their contact information with the collegiate brothers in case they had questions between meetings.
The creation of this event not only benefits the collegiate chapter, but also the alumni who choose to become mentors. All three of the brothers explained there are several alumni who would like to give back to the chapter but maybe can’t dedicate large amounts of time. This mentorship program provides another outlet for alumni to re-engage with the collegiate chapter as well as give back to the Fraternity.
Brothers Flax and Harrison both stated that the event will also be a great recruitment tool offering potential new members the opportunity to see how AGR will help build skills for after college and impact their career advancement.
“I’m probably the most excited to see how this translates to careers post-graduation,” Brother Flax said.
For more information on how to start your own mentorship program, you can reach out to the AGR Home Office at 816-891-9200.
