The Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program has been one of the most professionally rewarding parts of my liberal arts education. I applied to the Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program in the spring of 2015. I saw a notice in the Newswire, attended an information session about the program, and applied online for a mentor. During the application process, I was asked about what my plans for after graduation were and what I was looking for in a mentor. I was looking to work with someone who was practicing law, could give me insight into the profession, and would give me feedback on my resume. I had talked to lawyers before, but I was looking for someone to listen to my interests and goals and help me decide if a career in law was right for me. I also wanted to know more about the profession before I made the ultimate decision to attend law school.

There has been so much I’ve taken away from the program I never anticipated. Some of the most important skills I have learned in the program have come from taking part in this professional relationship. Networking and developing connections is something that is going to be an extremely important part of my career path regardless of whether or not I pursue law. Having the responsibility of reaching out to John consistently and consistently presenting myself as professionally as possible has really helped in knowing how to present myself in other situations.

My mentor and I met over a phone conversation during which we told each other a little bit about ourselves, and I explained my aspirations and some of my interests. The relationship initially consisted of him talking about how he made it to where he currently is and me asking him questions about it. Over time I started sharing ideas with him; these included internships, summer volunteer ideas, and post-graduate endeavors. He would give me feedback on them. One of the ideas that I’d been entertaining was taking a year off between undergraduate and law school to volunteer in a different country. It’s something that my mentor and I have talked about a lot, and he has really helped me feel confident in moving forward this idea. I talked to family and friends about it, but it means a lot to hear it from someone who had taken a break between undergraduate and law school, and could talk to me about how it affected his career. Any time I am considering a position of any type, I know I can come to him for a qualified, unbiased opinion.

Recently, I spent a day shadowing John at his office in Pittsburgh, which was one of the most insightful and beneficial experiences of the past year for me. Spending the day with him, I was able to see what responsibilities he has on a daily basis as General Counsel. Seeing what he does made me really think about eventually ending up in a similar position. I went into the Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program with the expectation of learning about what a lawyer does and possibly making connections in the field of law, and I’ve come out with so much more. My mentor is someone I can go to with any questions about my career and count on to give me an honest opinion. Some of the most important takeaways I’ve had from this program are those that are transferable to fields outside of law, skills like organizing a busy schedule, communicating during conference calls, participating in meetings, and maintaining professional relationships that I will be able to apply to any career path. I still have over a year left at Penn State, and I look forward to growing my mentor relationship and learning as much as possible from my mentor.