Pairing Up for Success

[caption id="attachment_8601" align="alignleft" width="135" caption="SAMI participants (©2004 Ed Malitsky)"][/caption] Last fall, when Amy Fenollosa, Ed.M.’03, and Eric Stone, Ed.M.’03, in collaboration with the Office of Alumni Relations, announced a new student-alumni mentoring program at HGSE, they were inundated with applications. “We actually had more people than we could accommodate,” says Fenollosa, who cofounded the Student-Alumni Mentoring Initiative (SAMI) with Stone. “We were delighted by the strong interest of the alumni and student body.” Managed by the Office of Alumni Relations, SAMI is now completing its pilot year. The 17 enthusiastic pairs selected for this first lineup—each studying and working in dynamic fields such as higher education administration, museum education, and educational technology—count themselves lucky. “This has been the most successful and enjoyable mentorship program that I’ve ever been a part of, by far,” says Marc Johnson, Ed.M.’99. “The advisory board really worked hard to make good matches.” [caption id="attachment_8602" align="alignleft" width="135" caption="SAMI participants (©2004 Ed Malitsky)"][/caption] Emily Cain, who will earn her master’s in higher education this June, was equally thrilled to have been paired with Johnson, the associate director of alumni and parent programs at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. “Marc’s support has been invaluable,” she says. “He has introduced me to so many people in the field, and even helped me to set up an internship with people he knew in the Boston area.” Cain, who lived in Maine for several years, says that she and Johnson found they had a personal connection as well. “We love joking about the trauma of being ‘foreigners’ in Maine,” she laughs, recalling her adjustment to New England country life. “We bonded right away.” This nurturing relationship was precisely what Stone and Fenollosa hoped to foster when they began developing the SAMI program a year ago. As master’s students juggling heavy course loads and looming career decisions, they recognized the advantages a mentor’s support and guidance could offer. HGSE graduates are uniquely suited to provide students with veteran perspectives. Academic choices, questions about campus and community life, and professional decisions are all areas where alumni can offer advice. But the benefits do not rest solely with the students, according to Julia Hunter Cavanaugh, the director of alumni relations. “These relationships have already opened up new dialogues and perspectives,” she says. “It is a wonderful way to keep alums connected with the innovative ideas, work, and people at the School.” Eileen McGowan, an HGSE doctoral student in higher education who serves on the SAMI advisory board, observes that this mutual benefit is a critical dimension of the program’s future success. “Research shows that good mentoring is regenerative,” says McGowan, who is studying the impact of mentor relationships. “If students and alumni enjoy productive relationships now, they are likely to return as mentors down the line. This not only helps the mentors and the protégés, but the field of education itself.” Affirmation like this spurs on Stone and Fenollosa. “Right now we’re looking at small changes that benefit individuals,” says Stone. But their vision for the future is expansive. “We’d like to extend the program in the coming years. We hope to include students and alumni from other schools at Harvard in order to help participants make cross-school connections in complementary fields.” About the Article A version of this article originally appeared in the Spring 2004 issue of Ed., the magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.