What does a successful mentorship program look like?
We chatted with Victor Agapay of Saint Andrew’s about a recent grad, John*, who went on to leverage the alumni community to power his business network. John used Saint Andrew’s Connect, a PeopleGrove platform that connects students with alumni for networking and mentorship opportunities.
“John has always been a go-getter. When he was in high school he had his own radio show. He just started a business. And he’s only a junior in college. He was one of the people who took complete advantage of our alumni network via Saint Andrew’s Connect.
“We met up for lunch recently and I asked what he’d thought of Saint Andrew’s Connect. John said that when he was in New York, he used Saint Andrew’s Connect to reach out to some alumni in the city for business advice and pitched his ideas.
“He had just graduated in ’14 or ’15, so it was cool to see him reaching out to alumni who were 20 or 30 years removed from Saint Andrews but who were more than happy to help him because, you know, he’s a Saint Andrew’s kid.
“John kind of showed us how networking is supposed to work. He got a little guidance, he got some business advice, he got connections with other people that he might never have run across without Saint Andrew’s Connect. And he got to see who in the alumni community was in New York, even if he didn’t connect with everyone.
“This is a concept we’re trying to prove to our students. You never know where life will take you, and having access to the Saint Andrew’s Connect network can really help.
“This kid took Saint Andrew’s Connect and he did exactly what we’re trying to help our students do. So that’s our ideal — really trying to bring the college motto of career mentoring and guidance to the high school level.
“At the end of the day, everyone is trying to network. It always comes back to, ‘I want to see what people are doing’ and ‘What can I get out of this?’ Alumni often ask us ‘How can Saint Andrew’s help me now?’
“Now we have an answer for them.”
*The alum’s name has been changed to protect their privacy.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
