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 students.
MiddMentors matches alumni volunteers with students based on shared interests, affinities, life goals, and other criteria. Alumni share advice, insight, expertise, and support with students, who can join MiddMentors their sophomore year and can remain with the program through graduation. Participants drive the mentoring topics, which can range from navigating life at Middlebury to exploring careers and professional interests to pursuing a rewarding life path.
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 resources, recommended best practices, and advice.
Who are our alumni mentors?
They are the alumni who find themselves saying, “I wish someone had told me ‘this’ when I was a student.” They recognize the value mentors had in their own lives, and they’re ready to “pay it forward.” They’re passionate about their careers and interests and want to cultivate that same sense of engagement in someone else. They’re excited to help a Middlebury student navigate a path that resembles the one they took.
Their time commitment averages about an hour a month, but their potential impact on a current student is huge. We invite undergraduate alumni to join as volunteer mentors.
How do they help our students?
Some mentors have helped guide our students into positions at top global firms. Other students reported dramatic improvements in their academic performance because their mentors helped them find and appreciate the connections between the classroom and the world of practice. Still, others were glad to find a Midd grad who could empathize with what it felt like to struggle at Middlebury when everyone else’s journey appeared effortless. Our students recognize that alumni mentors enhance their Middlebury network and give them access to valuable ideas, perspective, and advice unique to the Middlebury community.
Ready to join? Sign up at Midd2Midd!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q 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.
Q 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.
Q 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!).
Q 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.
Q 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.
Midd2Midd
Kitchel House
152 College Street
Middlebury, VT
05753