MiddMentors
MiddMentors: Be a Mentor. Find a Mentor.
MiddMentors is a one-on-one mentoring program with a mission to facilitate meaningful, productive mentoring relationships between alumni and Middlebury undergraduates.
We match alumni volunteers with students based on shared interests, goals, career paths, and other criteria. Students are eligible to participate starting their sophomore year.
There is no “one size fits all” approach to mentoring. That’s why we encourage participants to take an approach that best leverages their expertise, availability, and goals. Along the way, we provide support through an optional curriculum, resources, recommended best practices, and private consultations.
Who are our alumni mentors?
Our alumni mentors recognize the value of mentorship in their lives and are ready to pay it forward. They are passionate about their careers and interests and want to help cultivate that same sense of engagement in others. They’re excited to guide a Middlebury student towards a path like their own and typically commit about an hour a month to the program. We invite undergraduate alumni to join as volunteer mentors and make a meaningful difference in a student’s life.
How do they help our students?
Our mentors pride themselves on helping students build stronger connections between Middlebury and what comes next. They want to be stakeholders in student success, whatever form it takes.
Mentorships have prepared students for success at global firms and turned around academic struggles. Many provide the insight and exposure that leads to confidence and resolve when it comes to pursuing any number of post-Middlebury paths, from professional careers to graduate school.
Through MiddMentors, students have access to the unique perspectives, ideas, and advice that come from being a part of the Middlebury community.
Ready to join? Sign up at Midd2Midd!
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can volunteer to mentor?
MiddMentors welcomes undergraduate alumni of all backgrounds and class years. Our alumni mentors include entrepreneurs, social activists, doctors, CEOs, elected officials, professional athletes, consultants, and others representing dozens of majors, careers, countries, and backgrounds. Some are seasoned professionals whose perspectives are shaped by years of experience. Others are recent graduates with insights on how to navigate Middlebury or successfully transition to a first destination after college. All have in common the shared connection to Middlebury and a desire to work with students whose aspirations might resemble their own.
Which students can participate?
MiddMentors launched to every sophomore class, and began with the Class of 2022. After entering the program in their sophomore year, students are eligible to continue with MiddMentors throughout their junior and senior years. Not a sophomore? You can still participate in MiddConnect and MiddGroups.
What is the time commitment?
Mentor-student pairs run the length of the academic year. We match the majority of our participants early in the fall semester, but we also enroll students and alumni mentors on a rolling basis throughout the year. Once matched, we encourage our pairs to connect about once every three weeks, though the actual schedule and timing is up to you.
Each May, we close out our mentorships. Starting fresh provides more equitable access to alumni talent throughout the student body, and it allows alumni and students to create a broader network of connections. Mentors and students who have completed their yearlong pairing are welcome to work together informally (and we hope you’ll keep in touch!).
What is the MiddMentors matching process?
Our program managers use a custom algorithm to create matches. Our algorithm scans mentor and student profiles and creates matches based on shared professional interests, complementary academic backgrounds, preferences with respect to gender and affinity, and more. Additionally, students can opt to “favorite” alumni to signal their interest in working with them.
After being matched, mentors and students work together using the in-platform tools to communicate, set goals, and track their progress. Our team of advisors provides mentoring resources and on-demand personal consultations with students or alumni mentors seeking additional support.
How do you work together?
We pair students with one alumni mentor for the length of an academic year.
We leave the specific agenda and frequency of meetings up to you. There are no rigid expectations. We recommend meeting every 3 to 4 weeks, with the caveat that we have had mentorships in which mentors and students meet more (and less) frequently.