
Heather Fink, director of COM Career Services, designed COM Mentors, which launched in fall 2022 and filled quickly. Photos by Michelle Delateur.
COM Mentors Connects Students and Alums
Career Services program takes advantage of the college’s generous alumni network
When Heather Fink joined COM’s Career Services office as assistant director in 2018, she quickly noticed something special. “We have so many alums that are excited to give their time,” she says. “They want to chat with students. They want to give back to students. They want to be a resource.” The question was how to make the most of alumni generosity.
Fink, who was named director of Career Services in 2021, found inspiration in an alumni mentorship program organized by the BU College of Engineering’s Career Development office, and she designed a similar program for COM. COM Mentors launched in fall 2022 and filled quickly.
We have so many alums that are excited to give back their time to students.
Heather Fink
Mentor sign-up for spring 2025, the program’s third cohort, opened in November 2024 and the 60 available slots filled in five days. Fink and her staff then played matchmaker, pairing 60 students and 60 alums based on interests and industries. Each mentor–mentee pair received a suggested schedule of four meetings focused on getting to know each other, setting career goals, networking and putting goals into practice, and wrapping up. Fink says some mentor–mentee relationships continue beyond the semester.

The primary goal of the program is to help juniors, seniors and graduate students prepare to begin their careers, and it offers answers to some of the more specific questions. “There are people looking to have a mentor in a city they’re thinking of moving to after graduation,” Fink says. “They’re asking questions that even a career center might not be able to answer. And some of our alums are recent graduates, so they can provide that unique perspective of someone who recently looked for a job in that field.”
Fink adds that the program enhances her office’s reach. “If you ask anyone who runs a career center, they’ll tell you there’s just not enough appointments for the amount of students who want to see us,” she says. “The mentorship program allows for more appointments.”
Alumni interested in mentoring can sign up for the program’s wait list, and any juniors, seniors or graduate students who attend a 30-minute info session in November can apply to be a mentee. “The only requirement is that students show up,” says Fink. “We ensure the eligibility is inclusive to all that are interested in the program.”