Student Lucie Wei; Leslie Hughes, Co-op’s assistant to the director; and alumni Christina Christou and Ariel Dabora | Photo credit: Sarah Morgan
Since 2008, third- and fourth-year student mentors have been paired with first-year mentees. Given the program’s success, Hughes, who coordinates the Co-op Mentorship program, says it was time to take it a step further and match senior students with alumni mentors.
The idea has been percolating since the inception of the Co-op Mentorship program. The objective is to help senior students transition smoothly from school to the working world.
Christina Christou, BComm 15, then came onboard to spearhead the new Co-op to Industry Mentorship Program (C2I), which pairs senior students with career-established alumni ready to show budding mentees the ropes.
A former Co-op student, Christou took the initiative to write a proposal and planned out the details on a completely voluntary basis. In November 2015, she and Hughes launched C2I as a pilot project to allow students to further their hands-on experience with frontline advice from career-driven alumni. The initial test was a complete success.
A volunteer in the making
During her undergraduate studies in the Department of Finance at the John Molson School of Business (JMSB), Christou experienced Co-op education from all angles: as a mentee in 2012, and as a mentor for her last three years at the school.
She was a mentorship assistant and won the annual mentorship award in 2014.
Christou is currently a research associate with Boyden, a global executive search firm. Yet she was so impassioned by her Co-op experience that she decided to give her time despite her busy career.
She found the mentoring programs invaluable while studying and wanted to expand on the concept. “Mentorship relationships are so valuable,” says Christou.
“They really help senior students successfully map out their career paths as well as understand how to balance work and life.”
“We thought it would be a great way to close the Co-op loop,” Hughes explains. “We wanted to keep it small. We had a pilot group of 22 teams so we could analyze it, and it was fantastic. It was hugely successful.” Now the program’s training wheels are coming off and C2I is launching full swing this fall.
From the ground up
Christou and Hughes teamed up to find and reach out to alumni who have gone through co-operative education, were heavily involved as students and have since gone on to excel in their fields.
Those who volunteered to mentor in the pilot program enjoyed their experience so much, says Christou, that they are eager to continue their involvement and bring other alumni into the fold. Mentees also gave the program rave reviews.
“There is a lot of exciting new content that will be introduced this year. There will be phone conferences, a speaker series, get-togethers and the use of Moodle, a learning management system, to support the program,” Christou reports.
“Applications are available on the webpage and then, for the month of September, we will be analyzing and matching the profiles. We are going to officially launch in October.”
From there, the mentors and mentees will begin their eight-month journey.
A perfect match
Ariel Dabora, BComm 12, was a member of the Co-op program when he studied at JMSB. Dabora says it was the Co-op program that drew him to Concordia, since was looking for a place to learn not just in the classroom but in the field as well.
Dabora completed three internships while earning his degree and says it gave him a competitive edge when looking for work as a full-time accountant. He landed a job fresh out of school.
“After I graduated, I wanted to stay in touch with the program to see if I could give back,” he says.
Now Dabora, while working for the Montreal-based Richter accounting firm, is acting as Lucie Wei’s mentor. Wei is majoring in accountancy and, with three internships already under her belt, has her sights set on a December graduation.
Dabora has enjoyed the mentoring experience immensely. “It’s nice to see that Wei is really excelling,” he adds.
With graduation inching ever closer, Wei teamed up with Dabora in January. Wei says she had many questions on her mind and saw this pilot program as a great way to get that first-hand knowledge she craved.
“The experience has gone beyond my expectations,” says Wei, noting she met with Dabora several times to discuss a full gamut of career-related issues and concerns.
She was zeroing in on the imposing CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) exam accountants need to pass for certification. However, Wei says, Dabora went above and beyond the test with a wealth of well-seasoned counsel.
“He also gave me a lot of tips and advice on how to prepare for interviews. It’s really been an amazing experience.”