Students Network, Build Relationships with Alumni During Mentorship Week

Schwab Hall was buzzing with activity last week, as was the Science Center, Scotus Hall and many other locations across campus.

In Schwab, the Shields School of Business welcomed back 55 alumni for its annual Mentorship Day activities on Oct. 21.

“Every year Mentorship Day gets better,” said SSOB Associate Dean John Miko. “More alumni come back and we are so happy to see developing connections between alumni and students.

“We have alumni that care about giving back to our students.”

Since its inception as a one-day event in the SSOB, Mentorship Day in one school has expanded to Mentorship Week at Saint Francis, with a full slate of events across all three schools at the University.

The session “History Alumni and Their Careers” was held on Oct. 17, kicking off a week-long agenda that included networking events across multiple disciplines, including all of the fields of study within the SSOB, as well as Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, English, Fine Arts, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Political Science, Psychology and Social Work.

The week of events closed last Friday afternoon with an “Artist Talk” with Brandon Fiume, a professional photographer and 2019 graduate of SFU.

More than 40 different sessions were conducted throughout the week-long event.

“Mentorship Day has had a positive impact on me,” said senior Accounting and Finance major Nicole Davis. “I am able to grow my network and personally interact with alumni.”

For the second straight year, SSOB students had the opportunity to connect with alumni in one-on-one sessions in addition to interacting with SFU graduates in panel discussions.

These 20-minute one-on-one conversations afforded students the opportunity to build stronger connections with alumni who returned to their alma mater among the pines.

“I came back to see some of my former professors and give career advice to students,” said Marino Misitano, a 2021 Communications graduate.

Misitano is employed as a Digital Marketing Associate for Leybold USA in Pittsburgh.