Marquette University Alumni Association Mentor Newsletter April 2017 Celebrate with mentors, mentees and campus partners at April 27 finale More than 50 mentors and mentees have already registered for the Thursday, April 27, 2016-17 MUAA Mentor Program finale. Thank a mentor, expand your network and celebrate the conclusion of the year’s program. The complimentary, business casual evening takes place in Sensenbrenner Hall's beautiful Eisenberg Reading Room (considered the "Harry Potter room" by many). Learn more and register by April 21. And the pitch: Mentee Basch shadows Kasper, mentor and Cubs TV announcer Of the 28,728 fans at Miller Park on April 7 for the Cubs-Brewers game, none of them had the special vantage point similar to Communication mentee Connor Basch. Thanks to his mentor Len Kasper, Comm ’93 and Cubs television play-by-play announcer for the 2016 world champions, Connor got a special invitation to shadow him the entire game. “Sitting in the booth throughout the game gave me a great sense for how their live TV broadcasts work,” says Connor. “I’m extremely grateful to Len for this incredible experience. As he’s been all year, he was very helpful with any questions, too.”  Len has participated in the MUAA Mentor Program for three years and commended Connor as a mentee. “It’s been a pleasure to work with him, so providing him a chance to sit in the broadcast booth during the game was a great opportunity to apply what we’ve been discussing throughout the year,” Len says. Thanks to collaboration with mentor, mentee lands internship When junior criminology/law studies and sociology major Craig Pallardy expressed an interest in being mentored by a professional in law enforcement, the outcome has exceeded expectations. Thanks to the hard work he and his mentor Al Stassi from the Department of Justice have put forth since the start of the 2016-17 program, the efforts have paid off for both of them. Craig recently was offered an internship with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigations.  In addition to helping him with the internship opportunity, Craig believes Al has been a valuable resource in many ways. “He has been a great mentor, including always being there to help answer any questions,” he says. Al, meanwhile, provided his own props to Craig for the job he’s done as a mentee. “Craig established ambitious short and long term goals and when the (internship) opportunity presented itself, he was well prepared, articulate and proved he would be the hardest worker in the room,” he says.   Current, past mentees mentoring high school students through Encounters/Encuentros Mentor Program pilot The Marquette University Alumni Association salutes the following current and past mentees for their leadership and mentoring through a new pilot mentor program collaboration: Francesca Caparas, (arts, psychology). Erick Herrera Hernandez (arts, psychology), Roselee Ledesma (arts, psychology), Martin Rodriguez Romero (engineering) and Marielle Samii (arts, psychology). The Marquette Encounters/Encuentros Mentor Program is a partnership with the MUAA Mentor Program, Marquette's Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, and Cristo Rey Jesuit High School to support students who are underrepresented, low income or first generation. The concept is simple: support exceptional students who are first generation, underrepresented or low income through mentoring by outstanding MUAA Mentor Program mentees who have similar personal experiences. Initial results have been very positive and discussions are underway for future Encounters/Encuentros initiatives.     In the News Congratulations to these mentor program participants for their recent achievements. Gerry Ahern, Comm ’87 and editor of Golfweek, penned Al McGuire said no to Notre Dame, recommended Digger Phelps and Al McGuire was king of the television court too for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s special supplement celebrating 100 Years of Marquette Basketball. He resides in Michigan and is mentoring for the second year in the program. (Mentee: Brendan Ploen, Communication). Aleisha Jaeger, Eng ’03, is serving as chairperson and a panelist at the Building Leadership: Women in Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) conference April 20-21 in Chicago. She is serving in the MUAA Mentor Program for the third year. (Mentee: Ellie Shorter, Engineering)     Scott Kitun, Comm ’06, hosts The Startup Showcase, a new hour-long radio program devoted to conversations with Chicago’s innovation superstars. It airs on WGN Radio Saturdays from noon to 1 p.m. He is also CEO of Technori and serves in the Marquette University Alumni Association Mentor Program. This is his first year in the MUAA Mentor Program. (Mentee: Davis Marklin, Engineering) Sarah Wolak, Eng ’08, has been named compensation analyst at Briggs & Stratton in Milwaukee. This is her second year in the MUAA Mentor Program. (Mentee: Jake Rosewicz, Engineering)     If you have a new job, received a promotion, award or volunteered recently that you'd like to share with fellow mentors and mentees In the News, send it with a headshot to daniel.deweerdt@marquette.edu. MUAA Mentor Program Toolbox offers relevant mentor, career resources From mentor and mentee icebreaker questions to timely and trending mentor and professional development articles, visit the MUAA Mentor Program Toolbox. This month's featured resources: 6 things every mentor should do: Harvard Business Review What it takes to be a good mentee: Fast Company Mentor program questions or comments? Contact MUAA Mentor Program Director Dan DeWeerdt at daniel.deweerdt@marquette.edu or (414) 288-4740.