Student-Alumni Mentorship Program

Students studying at tables and chairs in atrium.

The Tufts Computer Science Department with Tufts Women in Computer Science runs a mentorship program pairing Computer Science students with mentors in the professional world. This program matches a Tufts CS student (undergraduate or graduate) with a Tufts alum as real world/professional mentor.

For students (mentees): This is an amazing opportunity to start building a professional network. Making professional connections is a great way to get your foot in the door, and your mentor can tell you about their experiences. The mentorship program is also a great way to start figuring out what you want to use your CS knowledge for.
For alumni (mentors): This is a great way to give back to younger CS students and help them learn more about the field, the professional world, and career opportunities. This is also a way to continue to be involved and connected with Tufts Computer Science. The 2014 Gallup-Purdue Index report "underscored the importance of mentors who care about students as persons, make them excited about learning and encourage them to pursue their goals and dreams. However, an insufficient percentage of students are receiving high-quality mentoring."

Mentor-mentee pairings will be made based on interests.

Spring 2020

This semester, we are working with The Herd, Tufts’ brand-new “flash mentoring” platform, to facilitate mentor-mentee communication and to bring this program to a wider audience. You can find more information about The Herd here: https://alumniandfriends.tufts.edu/build-your-career/herd. The program will be structured as follows:

Mentors will create a profile on The Herd with information about their background, technical experience, and interests. Students will also do the same.
Once the program is launched, students will be able to view mentors based on their profile and background, and reach out to a mentor based on similar interests.
When a student and mentor have connected, they will schedule at least two hour-long mentorship sessions during the semester. These meetings can take place in person or through The Herd’s video chat or call functionalities. More guidance on how to make the most out of the meetings will be provided later.

If you have not signed up for The Herd yet, you should start by making a profile through https://alumniandfriends.tufts.edu/build-your-career/herd. Then, go into your profile and edit the last section named The Herd Additional Information. Go to the section that says I IDENTIFY WITH THE FOLLOWING GROUPS/PROGRAMS and click WiCS (Women and Computer Science) Mentoring Program. This will mark you down as a mentor within our program!

Feel free to contact tufts.wics.mentorship@gmail.com with any questions about the mentorship program, or theherd@tufts.edu with any questions about the platform.