Foster Undergraduate Mentoring Program

A partnership between Foster Career Services & Foster Alumni Association

Current Program Cohort: November 2025 – May 2026

If you are interested in this program as a mentor, please fill out our interest form!

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Program Directors’ Contact Information:

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Overview and Mission of the Program

UW Foster Undergraduate students are invited to participate in the Mentorship Program that is led by Foster Career Services and the Foster School Alumni Association. This program is created to offer intentional mentorship for students of which they will be paired with a professional UW Foster alum as an early career resource where the students can build and develop professional relationships and networks, as well as receive academic and early career advice. This great opportunity to connect students with peers and professionals in the workplace will accelerate their professional and personal growth as they navigate their career exploration!

The mission of the UW Foster School of Business Undergraduate Mentoring Program is to enrich and support the professional, academic and personal experiences of these students through these mentorship relationships.  Alumni mentors will assist students in the transition from academic to professional life, and support their individual success at Foster and in their early career exploration.

Important Key Dates and Notes

• Mentor Application submission deadline: Friday, October 19th
• Mentorship Pairing Announcement: Week of November 3rd
• Community Kick-off: November 13th | 5:30 – 7 p.m.
• Midpoint Networking Night: February 26th, 2026 | 5:30 – 7 p.m.
• Program Closing Celebration: May 2026

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Mentee Expectations

Why participate?

You will gain a professional resource who will help to expand your knowledge and skills, give you valuable advice, and work to build and expand your professional network.

Your mentor is an advocate who will support you to set and achieve goals, build your network, and can partner with you on career exploration.

What is required of me as a mentee?

• Attend the in-person Community Kick-off or the virtual training and make a best effort to attend the Mid Point Networking Mixer and Program closing celebration.
• Connect monthly between November and May through in-person or virtual meetings.
• Take initiative by scheduling meetings and arriving prepared. Show a genuine interest, and ask questions.
• Complete personal and professional goals assigned to you (and create your own!). Mark these as complete by the assigned due date.
• Demonstrate mutual professionalism by being timely, open to feedback, expressing a willingness to learn, and following through on commitments.

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Mentor Expectations

Why participate?

Mentoring can be a fun and rewarding experience! You have the opportunity to advise, influence and support students on their university and career journey.

You’ll find that your own career, too, can be enhanced by the time and effort you put into a mentoring relationship as you hone your coaching skills and become familiar with the new generation entering the workforce.

Requirements

• Connect monthly between November and May through in-person or virtual meetings.
• Expose your mentee to potential career growth opportunities (via research, informational interviews, job shadow, professional organizations and networks etc.).
• Help your mentee set and achieve goals.
• Provide constructive feedback to enhance your mentee’s professionalism and preparedness.
• Share examples of success and failure from your own experience.
• Demonstrate mutual professionalism by being timely, open to feedback, and expressing a willingness to guide and teach patiently.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the program work?

Students will be matched with a mentor based on interest. Each mentor meets with their mentee for the duration of November – May, meeting at least once per month. The cohort is encouraged to utilize the resources, such as the goals guidebook and articles provided on this platform to help with their mentorship. Mentors and mentees are also encouraged to attend the quarterly events to connect and build community.

How are the mentorship meetings run?

At the first meeting, the mentor and mentee will come up with a series of topics they want to talk about, for example, “how do I interview successfully?” or “what does X job type really mean?” The mentor will work with the student to identify topics of interest for each meeting. The format of this program is flexible so that participants can identify topics that are best suited for them and students can prepare questions for their mentor that spark conversation and reflection.