By CADE KENNEDY, Student Reporter
A new mentor program at Northwestern is in the works, and the Northwestern Foundation and Alumni Association is ready to start it.
The program will officially be called “Ranger2Ranger” and is set to have a soft launch in May. It is expected to become available to all students next semester. The program will connect alumni to students who are wanting to learn more about their degrees and get a head start on their careers, officials said.
To access the program, students will log into a portal on the foundation’s website. There, they will be matched up with alumni who graduated with the same degree they have. It will be up to the students to send introduction e-mail to the alumi, and the goals of program will be discussed after the email is sent.
Students will benefit from the program because it provides an opportunity for freshmen and sophomores to be encouraged about their degree. It will also help students who change their majors, foundation officials said.
Ranger2Ranger will also allow students to have conversations with alumni about their future, and it will provide job opportunities for Northwestern graduates.
John Allen, the director of the Northwestern Foundation and Alumni Association, said the program will give students the chance to know helpful people.
The idea of Ranger2Ranger came from a conference in Denver, Colorado, that members of the alumni foundation attended. Attendees talked about how to help young alumni stay connected to their universities. They also looked at a mentor program at the University of Kansas as the blueprint for Ranger2Ranger.
“I believe that Ranger2Ranger is important because I have seen mentorship work, as well as listening to stories from other organizations,” Allen said.
According to Allen, Skeeter Bird, the CEO of the foundation, said 30% of students drop out after their first year of college.
“Hopefully this program will lower that number here,” Allen said.
Jeremiah Campbell, president of the Northwestern Alumni Board, said he is excited to see how Ranger2Ranger will turn out.
“I am excited to help the students that are coming up, as I wanted to make sure that we are helping the kids that are unsure about what to do,” he said.