Opportunity's Knocking... Thanks for Opening the Door!  

Advice is an interesting animal. Simply defined, it is "an opinion given as what to do." The key is to find a reliable source for this valuable information. The MIS Mentoring program is meant to provide such a source by matching students who have questions about curriculum and career choices with alumni who have already "been there."

There are three key players in the Mentoring Program: students, alumni and the University itself. Students benefit by having a chance to receive guidance from a practitioner in their chosen field of study; alumni receive not only the satisfaction of helping upcoming professionals, but an opportunity to network and share their knowledge with other information professionals; the University is nurtured though continued alumni relations, fostering better educated students, and in turn, improving the University's standing in the community.

The program has been structured in such a way that there is a great deal of flexibility in scheduling meeting times and topics. This approach is intended to provide a framework for communications that can be adapted by each pairing to maximize knowledge transfer while being sensitive to the schedules of all participants.

I am very excited about the Mentoring Program and would like to challenge everyone involved to capitalize on this opportunity and maximize their mentoring experiences. Learning is not limited to those in school; alumni and students alike can work together in order to gain knowledge on current trends, technologies and opportunities. The expression has taught us that opportunity will come knocking -- by sharing information through the Mentoring Program, we are preparing ourselves to open the door.

-Michael D. Aufdembrink
MS.MIS, 91