Hospitality Administration Mentor Program
The mentor program is for the students in the hospitality emphasis to gain knowledge about the industry and develop their career paths by leaning from industry mentors.
The experiences from the program will help the students in transitioning from academic life to the workforce. The program is also a valuable resource for industry leaders to meet and recruit upcoming graduates that have interest in mentors’ organization.
The program is one academic year (from Oct. to June each year), and one student will be paired with one industry mentor.
To be qualified for the mentor program, students must declare Hospitality Administration emphasis in the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences maintaining a minimum 2.5 GPA and completed 30 college credit hours.
Mentor Qualification and Responsibilities:
Definition:
- A mentor is a trusted counselor or guide, a tutor, a coach.
- You will be paired with either a student whose interest matches your professional area, or a student who just wants to know what your job entails to enable them to be better prepared to make decisions about future employment in the industry.
Qualification:
- Must be employed within the hospitality industry
- Must have a minimum of 4 years of industry experience with a four-year college degree and hold a management position in the field.
Responsibilities:
- Communicate with your student at least once a month through phone calls, e-mails and /or meetings
- Educate the student about your job responsibilities
- Invite your student to your work environment to observe you in your professional capacity
- Provide professional advice in helping the student identify, amend and act upon his or her goal
- Assist the student by acting as a role model through discussion, job shadowing, networking etc.
- Always display professionalism to your student
How to foster a good mentoring relationship include:
- Inviting the student to lunch
- Giving them a tour of your property
- Job shadowing you in your work environment
- Sharing relevant reading material
- Attending conferences and/or related association meeting together
Student Qualification and Responsibilities
Qualification:
- Students must declare Hospitality Administration emphasis in the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences
- Maintaining a minimum 2.5 GPA
- Completed 30 college credit hours
Responsibilities:
- Communicate with your mentor on a regular basis (at least once a month). Keep the communication lines open. Remember your mentor is taking time out of a busy schedule to help you.
- Be sure you hold up your end of the partnership
- Educate the mentor about the program or an upcoming project or dilemma you are facing in one of your classes
- Dedicate enough time to the mentoring program to assure success. The amount of time you and your mentor can devote should be established at your first communication. Everyone’s expectations are different. Some mentors have more time than others, so let them take the lead.
- you must conduct yourself in a professional manner
- always keep appointments
- dress appropriately when meeting your mentor
- Complete a report at the end of the mentoring program (The report guideline will be provided to you once you are admitted to the program.
Contact Person at NIU
Dr. Lan Li facilitates the mentor program. Any question and problem regarding to the program should be addressed to her. Dr. Li can be contacted at lanli@niu.edu or 815-753-6385.
