EL Mentorship Program

The EL Mentorship Program matches first-year and transfer undergraduates in CAS with an upperclass CAS student mentor for a semester’s worth of programming focused on putting your Arts & Sciences education into action. In addition to helping first-year students access experiential learning opportunities on- and off-campus, the program offers mentors and mentees the chance to participate in workshops to help them build community, practice reflection on their experiences, and learn skills to maximize their experiences. The program will run in mentoring groups where 1 mentor is matched with 1-3 mentees with similar interests or goals to create networks of support and knowledge. 

Benefits

Mentees will…

  • Receive guidance and direction from their mentor on finding experiential learning opportunities at BU and beyond
  • Grow peer and professional networks
  • Build reflection skills and assess career readiness as tools for identifying experiential learning opportunities right for them 
  • Become better prepared for the workplace by connecting classroom learning and knowledge to real-world situations

Mentors will…

  • Build leadership and communication skills
  • Grow peer and professional networks 
  • Expand career readiness competencies and interpersonal skills
  • Receive individual support from Program Manager on effective mentorship and continued engagement in experiential learning
  • Give back to their CAS Community by providing support to students in their first-year within the College

Eligibility

Mentees must be…

  • First-year students in CAS (transfer students in their first year are welcome!)
  • Open to new experiences 
  • Ready to share information about themselves in a safe environment
  • Willing to make time to meet with their mentor and attend workshops throughout the spring 2025 semester

Mentors must be…

  • Rising juniors, or seniors students in CAS who have declared a major
  • Planning to be on campus for spring 2025 (students planning to study abroad should not apply)
  • Familiar with experiential learning opportunities at BU
  • Have participated in at least three Experiential Learning opportunities, one of which is directly major/career-related
  • Willing to make time to meet with their mentee(s) and attend workshops throughout the spring 2025 semester

In addition to meeting these eligibility criteria, an individual will only be admitted if we can identify a suitable mentor/mentee match. While we work hard to find a match for all qualified applicants, there are rare cases where we cannot admit excellent mentors/mentees if we are unable to identify an appropriate match.

Commitment

By completing an application, you are committing to all the following if admitted:

  • Complete an in-person training session in the early spring 2025 semester (Mentors only) 
    • Monday, February 24th from 5:00pm – 7:00pm
  • Attend three in-person MANDATORY mentorship workshops/events each semester
    • Workshop #1: Wednesday, February 26th from 5:00-7:00pm
    • Workshop #2: Wednesday, March 26th from 5:00pm – 6:30pm
    • Workshop #3: Wednesday, April 16th from 5:00 – 6:30pm
  • Meet once per month, February 2025 to April 2025, with mentoring groups at mutually convenient times

Application Timeline

NOTE: Application timelines vary for mentors and mentees

Mentees application timeline…

  • Applications for the spring 2025 Mentorship Program will open at the end of November 2024
  • Applications will be accepted until February 2, 2025 at 11:59 PM
  • All applicants will be notified of decisions by February 4, 2025

Mentors application timeline…

  • Applications for the spring 2025 Mentorship Program will open at the end of November 2024
  • Applications will be accepted until January 23, 2025, at 11:59 PM
  • All applicants will be notified of decisions by January 28, 2025

Applications for Spring 2025 are now closed.

Apply

Note: All applications to the program are binding, meaning you commit to participating in the program if admitted. Due to the nature of the program, your potential mentee/mentor matches depend on your participation if you are admitted to the program.

  • Please ENSURE that your class schedule does NOT conflict with workshops before applying. If you have a class conflict, you are not eligible to participate in the program this semester
  • Applicants understand that admittance into the program is dependent upon availability of a matching mentor/mentee

    Questions?

    If you have any questions regarding this opportunity, please email casel@bu.edu.