{"id":48639,"date":"2026-10-22T13:53:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T17:53:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=48639"},"modified":"2026-10-22T13:56:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T17:56:29","slug":"48639","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/48639\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentoring is a Two-Way Street: Students and Alumni Learn from Each Other"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin test-block-editorial-leadin is-style-default-alt has-media has-media-focus-center-middle\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2496\" height=\"1664\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design.jpg 2496w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2496px) 100vw, 2496px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Photo\/Steven Cao<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Career Advice<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentoring is a Two-Way Street: Students and Alumni Learn from Each Other\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar test-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-categories\">\n\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/category\/alumni\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlumni\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">October 22, 2026<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/authors\/june-bell\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJune Bell\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div style=\"display:none;\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-inner js-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t\t<h4>Share<\/h4>\n\t\t<p class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-article-title\">Mentoring is a Two-Way Street: Students and Alumni Learn from Each Other<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-article-link\">\n\t\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" value=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/48639\/\" readonly>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<label>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Copy URL:<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"js-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Copy<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/label>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Philippines native Miguel Lukban (COM\u201925) had never interned or worked in the United States, and he wasn\u2019t sure if his resume positioned him for the public relations roles he was targeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stacey Gandler (COM\u201996) knew exactly how to help. She had volunteered with the College of Communication <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/for-current-students\/career-services\/\">Career Services<\/a> as a mentor, and counseled Lukban to present himself as a can-do candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFrame internships as a learning opportunity,\u201d she told him. \u201cBe someone willing to do anything and everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During their meetings in the spring semester of 2025, Gandler\u2014the managing director of public relations and brand ideation at Calcium+Company, a health care communications group\u2014also critiqued Lukban\u2019s resume. She suggested using the active voice to emphasize Lukban\u2019s contributions and show agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Lukban scored a job interview, he drew on the talking points he\u2019d reviewed with Gandler and ultimately was hired at a Boston public relations firm. \u201cThe mentorship was a great way to get more information and understand how to look for a job here plus learn how to present myself and what to put on my resume,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The COM mentor program, which serves about 55 students annually, isn\u2019t a boon only to mentees, says Colleen DelVecchio (CAS\u201992), a consultant who runs the program. \u201cAlumni love to hear what\u2019s going on with students, and they say their professional skills get better because mentoring helps them practice coaching and supervision skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mentor Will Nunnally (COM\u201908) was happy to share his experiences as a Georgia Public Broadcasting videographer and editor. He was also curious about the challenges COM students face as they enter the job market and scramble to keep pace with technological advances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMentoring is a two-way street,\u201d the Atlanta-area resident says. \u201cI\u2019ve been out of college for about 15 years, and I wanted to hear what students were working on and pursuing as careers.&nbsp; My expectation wasn\u2019t that I would give information and not receive anything in return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The career ambitions of his mentees have ranged from jobs in film and TV to social media and advertising. In conversations over the course of a semester, they\u2019ve sought Nunnally\u2019s guidance on career paths and requested his feedback on their portfolios. He encourages them to build their social skills by participating in virtual COM mixers and to network extensively to build broad industry connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mentors also model how to carve out a work-life balance in a world of 24-hour news cycles, and their work histories reassure students that career paths are rarely linear, says Heather Fink, director of COM Career Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since launching in 2022, the COM mentorship program has made 261 student-alumni pairings. It began as a spring semester activity for juniors, seniors, and graduate students but now runs from November to March and welcomes sophomores. Organizers this fall debuted virtual sessions where students and mentors can meet before students request a mentor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Placing students in internships at their mentors\u2019 companies isn\u2019t the program\u2019s aim. Rather, organizers emphasize the value of forging connections and exchanging knowledge. Before Lukban was paired with Gandler, he knew nothing about health care communications. Now, he\u2019s considering it as a career option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">\u201cYou should go into the mentoring program thinking about your career and what you can learn from your mentor as a whole,\u201d he says. \u201cBut you should also take note of where else you could go.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Philippines native Miguel Lukban (COM\u201925) had never interned or worked in the United States, and he wasn\u2019t sure if his&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26496,"featured_media":48644,"template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"categories":[962],"tags":[53,1264,156],"bu-publication":[1472],"discipline-type":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/48639"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26496"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/48639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48741,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/48639\/revisions\/48741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48639"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=48639"},{"taxonomy":"discipline-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/discipline-type?post=48639"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=48639"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=48639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}