Mentoring

Two students talking in Reynolda HallWe define mentoring as a purposeful and personal relationship in which a more experienced person (mentor) provides guidance, feedback, and wisdom to facilitate the growth and development of a less experienced person (mentee). Whether you’re hoping to find a mentor or to be a good mentor, we have opportunities for you to get involved and resources to support your mentoring relationship(s).

Check out the following programs and information to learn more.

Our Introductory Mentoring Skills online course is currently full and in progress until June 30, 2018. Check back at the end of the Summer for information on our Fall course offering and how to register!

Young Alumni Mentoring Groups

We started this program in DC and NYC in Fall 2013. Every other month, a group of 7-8 alumni in each city came together for facilitated conversation and meaningful connection about life and work. Since 2014, we have expanded to Boston, Charlotte, and Winston-Salem and now have alumni participants leading groups of their own. Sound like fun? You can start a group with your friends or colleagues! Our 2017-2018 groups are currently full and already in progress. Learn more about groups here.

If you would like more information on how to organize and lead a mentoring group, please contact Allison McWilliams, Assistant Vice President of Mentoring and Alumni Personal & Career Development, at mcwillae@nullwfu.edu.

Alumni Mentoring Skills Workshop

In collaboration with WAKECommunity and Affinity Group leaders, we offer mentoring skills workshops about the roles and strategies effective mentors and mentees use in creating supportive developmental relationships for personal and professional growth.

April 19, 2018 | WAKECharlotte Mentoring Workshops
Join us at the Wake Forest Charlotte Center for this workshop series. In the first workshop, we’ll discover the basic skills of mentoring relationships. In the second workshop (May 17), we’ll discover what it means to lead and manage from a place of mentorship. In the third workshop (June 7), we’ll unpack the importance of having a network of wise counselors and mentors that provide guidance and feedback for your personal and professional decisions.

How to Find a Mentor

Some questions to ask yourself, before you ask someone to be your mentor: Why do you want them to be your mentor? What are you willing to do, as part of the mentoring relationship? What are your expectations for the mentoring relationship? Be as specific as possible. Only after you have specific answers to these questions should you approach them and ask if they are willing to engage in a formal mentoring relationship with you.

Looking for more information? Check out this guide on Tips for How to Find a Mentor.

Develop Your Mentoring Skill Set

If you are involved in a mentoring relationship, you should have a clear idea of why you’re in the relationship and what you would like to get out of it. Whether you are a mentee or mentor, we hope that your experience will allow you to grow, learn, and develop in several specific ways. Check out these Mentoring Learning Outcomes for mentees and mentors, which outline skill sets that you should work to develop during your mentoring relationship, along with strategies for how to achieve each learning goal.

Still looking for more tools and resources to support your growth as a mentor and/or mentee? Click here!

Alumni Personal & Career Development Center

Located in the Office of Personal & Career Development
Reynolda Hall, Room 230
PO Box 7427
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
Front Office 336.758.5902

Our mission is to educate Wake Forest alumni on how to successfully navigate their personal and professional lives after college. We provide knowledge, tools, resources, and opportunities for connection for our alumni as they work, build their lives, and make decisions about what comes next.

Assistant Vice President: Allison McWilliams, PhD
Phone 336.758.3741

Associate Director: Lauren Beam, MS, NCC
Phone 336.758.3078

Assistant Director: Megan Bosworth
Phone 336.758.4278