This year marks the 10th anniversary for Marquette Mentors, the mentoring initiative of the Marquette University Alumni Association. The 2022-23 program kicked off Thursday, Sept. 29, with approximately 250 student mentees, mentors, mentee alumni and campus partners celebrating along with many others joining virtually from across the globe.
The award-winning program matches undergraduate and graduate students with alumni mentors based on college, major and career interest and is recognized as the gold standard in higher education, according to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Marquette Mentors was launched in 2013 in response to growing interest among students who were seeking career guidance and support from alumni, eager to learn abou their own professional experiences and insights. In addition to the one-to-one mentor-mentee match, more than 30 campus partners, including nearly every college and many programs, have served an integral role as catalysts and program advocates.
Outcomes have been extraordinary. 100% of participants have recommended the program, mentees have secured full-time and internship positions from their mentors, mentee alumni now serve as mentors, and lifelong relationships have been forged.
According to one mentor, “Marquette Mentors is the best of all of the mentoring programs that I have been a part of my entire career.”
Students have also found the initiative to be especially valuable. “I came into Marquette Mentors with little to no expectations that it would impact my life, but I found it to be an incredible experience, including having a mentor who truly cares about my future success,” a recent mentee says.
Along with the remarkable mentoring support from alumni, philanthropic generosity has exceeded $2 million in support of university initiatives, including a $1.5 million gift earlier this year from mentor Bill Krueger, Eng ’87, to endow the Robert H. Radtke Marquette Mentors Directorship.
Marquette Mentors by the numbers:
1 — Recognized as the gold standard for mentoring initiatives by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE, 2019)
27 — States and countries (England) represented by alumni mentors in 2022-23
30 — Mentor-mentee matches in 2013-14 for the program’s pilot
43 — Campus partner participants, including nine colleges, many majors and campus programs
93 — Annual retention rate (%) for mentors
161 — Mentor-mentee matches for 2022-23 (largest number to date)
1,014 — Student mentees served since Marquette Mentors was established in 2013-14
$1.5 million — Endowed gift by mentor Bill Krueger, Eng ’87, to endow the Robert H. Radtke Marquette Mentors Directorship
