Samantha
Mentor Match is a fairly new resource for Binghamton students to connect with alumni across the country. Having a mentor for your career not only helps you network, but also allows you to have someone older who has been in your shoes and can offer advice different from professors or peers. You get to choose who you want to request to be your mentor after looking through multiple profiles, and you can even request multiple mentors!
Getting Started
1. First you are going to join/log on to Mentor Match using your PODS login here. Sign up as a mentee.
2. Next, create your profile. You can add a picture, information about yourself, and any interests or clubs you are involved in on campus.
3. For nursing students, I suggest setting your career cluster to "science and healthcare" and setting your topics of learning to "public health" and "medicine/nursing."
4. Now that your profile is set up, Mentor Match will show you recommended profiles. I suggest setting a filter to show you only mentors who were enrolled in Decker.
5. Finally, connect with possible Mentors! Mentor profiles include information like what year they graduated, where they work currently, what clubs or organizations they were involved in and even if they are willing to have you shadow them (This is a great idea for summer/winter breaks!) Look through profiles and when you find someone who you think is a good match, request a meeting with them.
My Experience with Mentor Match
I signed up for this program over winter break, and connected with a Decker alumna in February. We were a great match because she works at a hospital close to where I live and am interested in applying for an externship at. She also is an alumna of my sorority which gave us even more to talk about!
We communicate mainly through text since she works night shifts and our schedules are both super busy. It is easy to just shoot her a quick text when I have a question and she gets back to me when she can! My mentor even told me about some externships I could apply to and advice when applying. Overall, it was great to get advice and network with a successful Decker alumna!
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