MiddMentors

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.

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.

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!).

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.

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.