Sophomore students in the SPA Leadership Program meet with potential mentors.

The Leadership Class of 2015 came decked in business attire to meet their potential mentors at the Mentorship Reception hosted on October 3rd. The Mentorship Program pairs sophomores with professionals in the D.C. community. Two sophomore Mentorship Coordinators, Cassandra Henry and Jasmine Jones, worked hard alongside the freshmen Mentorship and Events Committee to host the event, preparing all the details, from food to nametags.

Structured like speed- dating, the “flash mentoring” reception allowed students to meet up to six potential mentors, and volunteer mentors to meet as many as twelve students. Students made excellent use of their “elevator speeches” they had practiced in class the week before.

To secure excellent mentors, Henry and Jones recruited heavily from Leadership alumni as well as professionals who had served before as mentors. Some of the mentors, such as Kelsey Stefanik-Sidener ’11 benefited from being mentored in their own sophomore years in the Program.

Jenny Newman ’15 participated in the Mentorship Reception. She said, “It was fabulous and I’ve met several people I’d love to network with and just share stories with because they’re amazing.” The sophomore students will meet with their mentors several times throughout the course of the year. They hope to gain information, skills, and guidance on securing intern- ships and entry level positions right for them.

When asked what he hopes to gain from participating in the Mentorship Program, Gabe Menchaca ’15 says, “I’m looking to gain valuable networking experience outside of the typical internship route. I want to build local connections that can serve as a base for my life after college.”

The Mentorship Reception reaffirmed students that the work they are doing in the SPA Leadership Program is important. All of the students participating in the program are incredibly grateful to their mentors and look forward to working with them this year.