Mentors assist Nursing students

Although Nursing junior Shelley McDaniel still has three years before she will enter the work force, she is already preparing for her future career. Recently, McDaniel followed her mentor, School of Nursing graduate Gwen Nissel, through a typical day at the hospital where Nissel works. The two often discuss McDaniel's options and future plans over dinner or coffee. In an attempt to promote diversity within the Nursing School and ultimately the nursing profession, the Nursing Undergraduate Advisory Board established an alumni mentor program three years ago. Students like McDaniel now have the opportunity to benefit from being paired with Nursing alumni in the beginning of their freshman year. According to Nursing School Assistant Director for Alumni Relations Leslie Soklov, officials saw the need for the mentoring program when they found that the number of minority students graduating from the Nursing School was lower than the school's average graduation rate. The mentors are matched with a student of the same ethnic background at a meeting at the beginning of the semester. The relationship between the mentor and mentee is then allowed to develop according to the individual's needs. "It has definitely been a help and continues to be," McDaniel said, adding that she and Nissel are "always talking on the phone." Stories of successful pairings like this one abound. One mentee, Nursing sophomore Nickia Little, even asked her mentor, Nursing graduate Pat Bradley, to be the keynote speaker for a reunion of an educational funding program in which Little participated. Bradley serves as co-chairperson of the mentoring program, along with fellow Nursing graduate Tilly Haugs. Even though the program is based on minority concerns, the mentoring actually addresses issues with which almost every student grapples. Whether facing doubts about their career choice or learning how to make necessary professional contacts, students have found their mentors to be a source of support in easing the shock of adjusting to the first year in college. The program has grown from 12 participants in its first year to more than 54 this past year, and Soklov said she expects it will continue to grow.