1. 2007-08 SFCB Mentor/Mentee Kickoff Meeting
This front page will be projected prior to meeting beginning
Sunday, October 14
2-4pm

2. Agenda Welcome/Overview (Bob) Mentor/Mentee Pairings (Sandy)
Background, structure, lessons, ideas
Mentor/Mentee Pairings (Sandy)
Pairings announced; exchange of information – setting expectations
Q & A Session (Sandy)
Regroup for open Q/A
Closing (Amy)
Where do we go from here?
Brief overview of the agenda we’ll follow

3. Welcome/Overview SFCB Background Board members LN lessons learned
SFCB’s process thus far
Pilot program
Sandy & you: our gateway to success
Bob: Graduate alumni degree program mentoring program since ’99 when the program was designed/developed and expanded to include up to its current 65 mentor/mentee pairings from 1st and 2nd year graduate students wanting to have someone within the professional community who would be available to guide/enhance the graduate student experience. Each year several of these pairings are done remotely from mentors not located in the Mpls/St Paul area. I have been active for four of these years; 2 long distance.
Sandy: a passion for students and building bridges with the professional community (Sandy)
Amy: desire to see the success of a program which has so much potential in our geographically-challenged Comp/Benefits community
LN Lessons: WatW has had several LNs attempt going beyond the student scholarship to design/build mentor/mentee programs but it has been the experience of these LNs that when the catalyst for the program left their Board position, the program faded.
SFCB’s process: This may or may not be the case for us, but we are attempting to build the program with a firm foundation which includes the following actions from this past year
* BOD dedicated appointed position: Director of Outreach/Student Development (Sandy Stewart)
* Commitment from BOD and Sandy to be in this for the long haul: experiment with pilot program but gear up with building relationships with a few local campuses
* Student Membership program: No Cost, required to attend all quarterly meetings, mentor/mentee potential relationships [Fall through Spring: October – May (~7mths)]
Pilot Program: During the next +7 months, please be thinking of feedback which would be helpful for SFCB to build upon this program!

4. Welcome/Overview Mentor/Mentee Roles
What they are
What they are not
Student Membership & Mentor/Mentee relationships provide:
Students with opportunities to learn from professionals
Facilitates the building of connections with the HR community which assists in building successful careers
Forms stronger links between SFCB, SFCB members, Universities training Comp/Benefits/HR professionals and those they are training
Mentors typically meet with students monthly throughout the 8-month program
All participants have the SFCB quarterly meetings in place to help facilitate meeting
Lessons learned from successful programs & extensive research on primary roles
Mentee drives the relationship
Mentors are available
Mentoring role may need take on any of the following roles (handout previously given): Communicator, Counselor, Coach, Advisor, Broker, Referral Agent, Advocate
Mentoring role is not: a ‘buddy’ relationship, supervisory relationship, distraction, social relationship, casual relationship, something to do to “check the box", remedial relationship
Mentee role has the following roles/characteristics (handout was sent): Develop well-thought out professional and career goals for the mentoring relationship and oneself, take responsibility for driving the partnership to meet individual goals, open to feedback and individual growth, have realistic expectations of mentors, take initiative to reach partnership goals and objectives, take risks in order to grow, good listeners, are authentic, follow through to achieve partnership goals, committed to confidentiality
Mentee roles is not: a ‘buddy’ relationship, supervisory relationship, distraction, social relationship, casual relationship, something to do to “check the box", remedial relationship
Student Membership & Mentor/Mentee relationships provide:
Students with opportunities to learn from professionals,
Facilitates the building of connections with the HR community which assists in building successful careers
Forms stronger links between SFCB, SFCB members, Universities training Comp/Benefits/HR professionals and those they are training
Mentors typically meet with students monthly throughout the 8-month program,
All participants have the SFCB quarterly meetings in place to help facilitate meeting
Lessons learned from successful programs and extensive research conducted:
Ultimately, the mentee must drive the relationship (each has expressed a need)
Mentors must provide reasonable availability (each has expressed their availability)

5. Welcome/Overview How to create a successful mentoring relationship
Mentor/Mentee Kickoff Meeting attendance (TODAY!!)
Get acquainted and review goals/concerns
Schedule another meeting (phone, in person after SFCB event) to further define goals/concerns
Clarify expectations, set reasonable goals for the next +7mths
Meet/talk at least once a month
Mentees drive the relationship! (mentor should step in if nothing happens)
Ideas of things to do with mentees
Mentor/Mentee exchange resumes
Generate a list of questions to ask your mentor
What advice would you give me at my current career stage?
What is the greatest lesson you have learned?
Shadow your mentor
Discuss in detail a current work project the mentor is working on
Plan to simply go through these one at a time; all self-explanatory but rather than have the whole list come up on the slide show, I’d like to have one at a time

6. Mentor/Mentee Pairings
Jenny Armwood
Lourdes Vargas
Sandy introduces each pair and after all are announced, the pairs go off and chit/chat
* Pairs introduce each other; exchange resumes, schedules, needs, restrictions, etc. (20-30 minutes)
Marilyn Durant
Kiomara Hidalgo
Kim Greenfest
Christine Vidales
Julie Biles
Ellorine Jershun
Maria Franco-Maraist
Ana Cecilia Avila

7. Q & A Session Open Forum – let’s discuss Examples
What happens if either pair loses interest?
What do I do if my mentee hasn’t contacted me (re. it’s now January and I’ve heard nothing since late October)?
Will Sandy contact me or should I contact her?
Begin with Open Forum to discuss any items that may have come up while the pairings were talking. It may be that this will hold the 10-15min conversation intended. If we need to, we can go through some examples and discuss these within the group.

8. Closing Where do we go from here?
You’ve had a chance to discuss/exchange and set objectives… build on that
Involve Sandy as needed, she’ll also be in contact with you per progress, updates, feedback, etc.
Door prizes
THANK YOU… tHaNk YoU… thank you!!