Personalized advising, interdisciplinary coursework and hands-on learning opportunities have long defined the Honors experience at the University of South Florida’s Judy Genshaft Honors College. This fall, current undergraduate students will have another resource to support their academic and professional growth: a structured mentorship program connecting them with Honors College alumni and industry professionals.
The semester-long program pairs Honors students from the Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses with alumni and affiliated industry professionals for one-on-one mentoring.
Participants meet regularly throughout the semester while also taking part in workshops, reflective activities, and kickoff and closing ceremonies held in person.
The idea for the program emerged after Associate Dean of Planning and Programming Reginald Lucien heard feedback from Honors alumni who wanted more opportunities to stay involved and give back by mentoring students, just as they had been mentored during their undergraduate years.
“We’ve always had mentorship in Honors; it’s just not been structured within a program,” Lucien said.
Lucien selected Honors affiliate faculty member Mark Lane-Holbert to lead development of the program. Lane-Holbert previously led mentoring and student success initiatives within USF Housing and Residential Education and the Center for Urban Transportation Research, and has coordinated student support programs in schools across Florida.
Drawing on his experience mentoring students and researching the transition to college, Lane-Holbert envisioned a mentorship program that would support student growth and resilience.
“Research shows that one of the most powerful tools students can have for their career and life journey is having a good mentor,” Lane-Holbert said. “For that reason, we set out to design an organized program to give students the opportunity to have a personal connection that sets them up for success.”
Honors student Iren Hernandez believes the program fills an important gap in the Honors experience.
“The mentorship program was something we were kind of missing,” she said. “It’s going to be so helpful to have a collection of mentors we can connect students with that will help answer their questions and give them different perspectives."
From Pilot to Program
Last spring, Lane Holbert and Lucien piloted the program, pairing about 20 Honors students with alumni working in their intended career fields. Every mentor reported a positive experience, and participating students described the mentorship as valuable.
Lane-Holbert said the program benefits mentors as much as students because it offers professionals a meaningful way to give back.
“One thing most professionals do not have access to is generativity – the ability to share their wealth of knowledge and life experience with the next generation, and that’s something this mentorship program can offer them,” Lane-Holbert said. “They also know our students are ready and will be excited to absorb, like sponges, all that knowledge.”
This fall, the mentorship program will officially launch, serving Honors students on both USF’s Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses. Lucien said the program is best suited for students who have begun exploring their career interests and are ready to build relationships with professionals.
“In some ways, we’re not looking for the first semester freshmen; we’re looking for the student who’s thought about their career path, taken some classes, gotten some experience, and is now wanting to connect with someone in their field,” he said.
At the Honors College, there’s no shortage of self-motivated students seeking personal connections in their field. With strong interest from both students and mentors, Lucien and Lane-Holbert hope to expand the program so every Honors student has the opportunity to participate.
“The hope is that we will not only be able to scale the program throughout the college on both campuses, but more importantly, have an impact on structuring mentorship as a core experience in the Honors College,” Lucien said. “We want every student to have that opportunity.”
"We're very grateful to the donors who made the pilot program possible and continue to invest as the program formally launches,” he said. “The 'proof of concept' coming out of the pilot is, of course, the benefit to our students, but it also is our alumni's realization that the benefits are mutual — that they can learn a lot from our students about what the emerging workforce needs and wants from a career."
Interested students and mentors can learn more about the JGHC Mentorship program and how to participate on the Honors College website.