While the university has long offered a mentorship model through Alumni Engagement and Volunteer USI, a new mentoring program is now housed within the Career Success Center. The platform, called Mentor Match, officially launched in July 2025, marking its first academic year in operation.

Unlike the previous system, which required students to browse a list of mentors and send introductory emails, the new platform allows students to filter potential mentors by major, career field, employer and geographic location. Students can then request a match with the click of a button.

Maggie Carnahan, director of Alumni Engagement and Volunteer USI, said the change comes from student feedback that the earlier process felt intimidating. By integrating the program into the Career Launch system, which students already use, the office hopes to reduce anxiety and eliminate barriers to participation.

Carnahan said 50 mentors are registered on the platform, but only ten student matches have been made.

The goal is to increase that number to at least 50.

“It’s a bit of a seesaw right now,” she said. “We built up the mentors, and now we really want to build up the student matches.”

To help boost engagement, the office will host a “speed mentoring” event from 2 to 3 p.m. March 4 in Carter Hall. The event will include 20 mentors and 20 students, who will rotate through brief introductory conversations before selecting potential matches.

All mentors in the program are confirmed USI alumni representing each of the colleges. Many mentors have indicated they are willing to mentor multiple students.

The platform also links directly to mentors’ LinkedIn profiles, allowing students to research professional backgrounds before requesting a match.

Carnahan said the program is intentionally flexible with no required meeting frequencies or time commitments.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to this,” she said. “It’s really what works best, or what the student is looking for from the mentor.”

She shared the story of Tanner Hux, junior marketing major, who matched with Laura Gobert ‘24, events & experiences coordinator for the Downtown Evansville Improvement District. Hux volunteered alongside Gobert at the sixth annual “Dog Day Downtown” in October.

Students can access Mentor Match by visiting Alumni Engagement and Volunteer USI’s webpage. Registration for the March 4 speed mentoring event is open, with space limited to 20 students. Click here to register.

Carnahan said she hopes the new platform will normalize mentorship as part of the student experience and create lasting professional networks between alumni and current students.