Alumni mentors to help athletes prepare for future

Since athletes spend so much time practicing their sport,Since athletes spend so much time practicing their sport,the mentors will help them with career development. Penn graduate Carl Robbins is worried about what Quaker basketball players will do with their lives after graduation -- "when the cheering stops." In order to assist men's and women's team members achieve their career goals outside of sports, Robbins, a 1970 Wharton graduate and co-captain of the 1969-70 men's basketball team, plans to implement a mentoring program this season. Robbins said student-athletes, particularly basketball players, must spend a particularly large portion of their time practicing and improving their basketball skills, even during the summer. As a result, they do not have the time to focus on planning their careers or obtaining summer internships, he added. Non-athletes, on the other hand, often have the advantage of gaining experience in their chosen fields before graduating from college. "These guys are caught up in internships by their sophomore year," Robbins said. "They're well on a path around career management." To help alleviate the disparity, Robbins and the Penn Basketball Club -- a group of alumni and friends of Quakers men's hoops -- are recruiting alumni to serve as mentors for current undergraduates. But Robbins said he already knows problems associated with the program might arise, such as finding alumni to participate or "making sure there are certain safeguards in place so there are no abuses either way." "You've got to find alums who are willing to donate some of their time," Robbins said, adding that he is now compiling a database of former players interested in mentoring. Men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy called the mentoring program "a great idea and a great help to us." "His idea is that these guys spend? the better part of three hours every day practicing their skill in basketball," Dunphy said. "By the time they're reached their junior or senior year, [they've missed] doing an internship or getting a job during the course of the year that may help them in their careers later on." College junior and men's basketball player Garett Kreitz, who had an internship with Sunoco last summer, said the program "would be a good idea." "It's harder to get time for the job interviews," Kreitz said. "We have much more strict schedules than everyone else on this campus." Kreitz added that a summer internship like his could benefit athletes' careers. "I'm sure some people would appreciate 9-to-5 summer jobs," he said. One of Robbins's former teammates, current Athletic Director Steve Bilsky, said the mentoring program will provide alumni with an alternative to opening their wallets and donating money to the department. "It sounds great to me," Bilsky said. "People think of alumni getting involved and giving us money, which is nice, but there's lots of ways for alumni to get involved." This is the first program of its kind specifically geared toward student-athletes. Other mentoring services and programs are available to undergraduates through the Department of Academic Support Programs and the Trustees' Council of Penn Women.

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