Are you interested in mentoring:
- undergraduate students with high entrepreneurial talent;
- entrepreneurs who are navigating the start-up world; and
- young professionals who are navigating their careers?
We have a great opportunity for you! Apply to be a Coach Connect mentor today!
Coach Connect was started in 2021 to connect Builders, students with high entrepreneurial talent, with mentors who could serve as an active resource regarding skills, leadership, and industry insight. This year we are continuing this tradition by hosting Coach Connect February 24 through March 7, 2025.
A coach/mentor is a business professional who offers guidance, support, and expertise to individuals who are part of the Clifton Builders Program. They help Builders improve their skills, strategies, and overall performance. As an active mentor, they aim to enhance leadership qualities, decision making abilities, and overall success as they prepare to enter or are currently navigating the professional world.
What do we need from volunteers?
- Your Time: 2 hours of your time, broken into four 30-minute 1:1 mentoring sessions over the two-week time period between Monday, February 24th through Friday, March 7th, 2025, with the ability to communicate with up to 4 mentees via email the week prior to schedule those 1:1 meetings.
- A Completed Volunteer Form: This form can be found on our website. This form will capture information that we will post on our website, such as the volunteers’ areas of expertise/study if applicable, industry, professional bios, and headshot.
How it Works:
- Coaches (Mentors) will complete our volunteer form on our website by Friday, January 17, 2025.
- Builders (Mentees) will have the opportunity to choose their Coach based on major/minor, field and industry and career aspiration upon reading the coaches professional biographies the week of February 10, 2025.
- Builders will complete outreach to their Coach no later than February 17th, and the pair will be asked to schedule one 30 minute 1:1 meeting during the Coach Connect Weeks (between Monday, February 24th through Friday, March 7th, 2025).
- 1:1 Meeting Structure: We intend for this to be a one-time session with the mentor/mentee pair, to expose Builders to the importance and impact of networking. However, if your session goes well, you’re more than welcome to schedule another session although it is not required. During the ‘coaching’ session, we encourage the pair to discuss topics such as:
- Goal Setting: The coaching pair will collaborate on creating a goal/goals for the mentee to accomplish. These can include skill development, career progression, networking, and project planning, and professional goals.
- Role/Industry Training: The coach will provide the mentee with insight to a day in their role, including annual cycles of work. This should allow the mentee to understand realistically how their career aspirations will match with what they hope to achieve post graduation.
- Challenges Builders are currently facing and strategies to overcome these challenges, and
- Ways to prepare for their future career/navigate their current workplace.
- Post 1:1 Meeting Survey: After the Coach Connect 1:1, we ask that both the Coach and the Builder complete our Coach Connect survey, which helps us keep track of all of the mentoring sessions that are occurring, as some students are required to complete this for their class.
Volunteer Form
We’d love to have you join us as a Coach this year for Coach Connect! If you are interested, please fill out this quick form by Friday, January 17, 2025.
We’d also love to have at least 20 coaches, so if you have anyone in your network that you think would be interested in this opportunity, please let us know!
Feel free to reach out to Elaina Bailey elaina.bailey@michaelbest.com, Brianna Ridenour brianna.ridenour@colostate.edu or Leo González (Mexico) leo@daftonmedia.com, with any questions. We look forward to connecting with you!
