Niagara University-College of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Applications

Mentor Application

Online Version

Student Application

Online Version

These applications are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If you need the Acrobat reader, click here.

Back in 2002, the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management in conjunction with the Alumni Council of the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management launched the mentorship program. The program is designed to tap into the valuable experience of our alumni and channel that back to the student. The College has developed a fantastic curriculum over the years, so much so that it is now accredited, making it one of only a very few universities in the U.S. to have such a program. As we all know, academic knowledge needs to be supplemented with practical knowledge as well.

This is where the mentorship program helps the academic program. By pairing up students with a mentor from their field of interest, we provide some practical knowledge of the industry and help the student make decisions that will assist in transitioning from academic life to the work force.

To be able to participate as mentors, alumni need at least 5 years of work experience in the field in which they wish to represent to the student. The student must have completed at least 30 credit hours of coursework, thus making most students at least sophomores. Mentors and students are partnered according to the area of interest. Only one student will be assigned to one mentor. The program begins each year in October and concludes in May. The mentor and the student are in touch throughout each month as much as the student and mentor feels is needed. We will provide a guideline of discussion topics to assure that certain areas are covered. However, this is just the beginning. As the relationship develops over the course of the school year, many more topics are discussed and when available, students actually visit the mentor’s place of employment for some real “hands on” education. Most communicate through e-mail, but any method of communication that works for the team is acceptable. History has shown that some face to face interaction really enhances the experience, but is not truly a requirement. The student completes a very short monthly report. The mentor completes a mid-year and end of the year report. These reports are sent to the Mentorship Committee for review. It is important that the program is monitored in this way so that everyone has his or her expectations met.

The Mentorship Committee reviews all applications and selects mentors to represent the five different categories of focus. The current categories are as follows:

Applications for mentors to participate in the 2008/2009 school year are being accepted now through September 26, 2008. Please click on the links at the right to complete the form. Applications for students are being accepted as well. The deadline for student applications is September 26, 2008. Please click on the link at the right to complete the online form. Mentors will be notified of their acceptance into the program by e-mail or telephone in September 2008 so that further instructions can be provided before any contact is made with the student. Students will be notified of their acceptance into the program by October 3, 2008, along with their assigned mentor. Mentors will be notified of their assigned student the same day. We try to pair every student with a mentor in the student’s primary area of interest. If a mentor is not available, then the student is contacted to discuss the potential of working with a mentor in their second choice of interest. The student may make the decision to drop out of the program if a suitable mentor is not available.

On Friday afternoon, October 10, 2008 during Career Day, there will be a meeting for all mentors and students that have been chosen for the program. We will discuss more details of the program and you will hear directly from students and mentors that participated in last year’s program. This will also give the teams a chance to meet personally. Participating students in the program will be required to attend and we strongly encourage every Mentor/Alumni that will be in the program to attend. More information will be forth coming on this meeting.

We hope that this program will be rewarding to both the mentor and the student. For further information, please contact any member of the Mentor Committee:

Students can also visit Professor Steve Siegel in his office on the 4th Floor of the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management for an application as well.