One senior, one newcomer, one honest hour
Two hundred alumni mentors met the freshman class on the great lawn this term — the biggest intake the mentoring circle has ever run. Each newcomer leaves with a named senior, a meeting rhythm and one rule: no question is too small.
The programme began five years ago with eleven pairs and a borrowed seminar room. It now runs in every faculty, with circle captains matching pairs by course, language and temperament rather than grades.
What a month looks like
Pairs meet once a month — coffee, a walk, a workshop, whatever fits. The Brotherhood supplies conversation guides for the first three meetings (courses, money, homesickness) and then gets out of the way. Captains check in quietly each term.
- Matched within two weeks of enrolment
- Three guided first meetings, then your own rhythm
- Group workshops on interviews, internships and exams
Why mentors keep coming back
Ask any mentor and they will tell you the secret: the seniors learn as much. “My mentee taught me how the new lab scheduler works in twenty minutes,” laughs Daniel Reyes, class of 2011, who coordinates the engineering circle. “I had been fighting it for a month.”
Join the next round
Applications for mentors and mentees reopen each term through the contact desk. Alumni outside the city can mentor by video call — a third of pairs already do.
Class of 2011 · Mentoring coordinator. Daniel matches engineering pairs and runs the interview workshops.