The Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service is giving Tufts students a chance to network with alumni this summer through a new program called the Connecting Alumni and Student Experiences (CASE) Network.
The network will match Tufts students who have already obtained summer employment in Washington, D.C., New York, Boston or Chicago with local alumni who will serve as mentors. Students and mentors will be paired by various criteria, including their personal interests and needs, as well as their particular fields of work.
Tisch College Alumni Coordinator Melissa Russell said that the program is similar to the Washington, D.C. Alumni Network, which was created in 2005 and provides internships and counseling for Tufts students in the nation's capital, particularly in the non-profit and public service fields.
"It proved to be a really great experience for those people in guiding them through their summer program," Russell said.
According to Brooke Menschel (LA '02), one of several D.C. alumni coordinating the mentoring network, nearly 40 Tufts students and graduates were involved in the D.C. network in its first year. Due to the success of the program, however, many students became interested in expanding it to other regions.
"I've been approached throughout this year by several different student groups expressing interest [in] connecting with alumni and figuring out how to do that," Russell said.
As a result, the CASE Network was created with the assistance of alumni groups throughout the country.
According to Russell, the CASE Network will build upon the successes of the D.C. program. The main difference is that the new program will not focus on finding students internships, instead working to help those who already have them.
During the summer, students involved in the CASE Network will participate in launch events with alumni groups in each city and will keep a weekly journal, which will be shared with their mentor.
"The journal will be a good opportunity for students to talk about what they are doing, and for mentors to provide feedback and to promote a bit of a forum for an ongoing dialogue without having to start from scratch," Menschel said.
Journal topics will be sent to student participants each week, who will then e-mail their responses to their mentors. "They are essentially a reflection on students' learning, their experiences, and anything they're struggling with at their position," Russell said.
Each city will also have its own unique events throughout the summer aimed at allowing students to network with fellow Jumbos and Tufts alumni and to acquaint themselves with potentially new surroundings.
Aman Gupta (LA '06), one of Chicago's CASE Network coordinators, said the Chicago alumni committee plans on having mentor-student dinners every few weeks, as well as an outing to a Cubs game and a cruise aimed at acquainting students with Chicago's architecture.
Allison Cohen (LA '04), an alumni coordinator in New York, said that the city's CASE Network plans on having several networking and social events and will invite students to be part of Tufts Active Citizenship in New York's (TACNY) community service events.
Menschel said that all the events in all of the areas will strive to "bring students and mentors together so they really feel like they are part of the community."
While students will have the benefit of the relationship with a mentor, they will also be able to get to know professionals in many different fields through contact with other participants. "Students will be able to get exposure to different industries without actually having to work in those industries," Gupta said.
Alumni involved with the CASE Network said that they realize that students will be busy with their internships or jobs and that commitment to the program can be as large or small as students wish.
"We're leaving it with a minimum involvement to start, and if people want to expand that, if they want to meet for coffee, they're welcome to .... We just want it to be there as an additional resource," Cohen said.
While the original D.C. Alumni Network program focused on the fields of public service, the new CASE Network will include alumni and students from all career paths. Some mentors will even be students themselves who are enrolled in various graduate programs. "We want everyone to be involved," Cohen said.
