Colleges around the country host awesome programs to help students, and the University of Southern California (USC) offers a special mentoring program for first-generation college students, a program run by their alumni who are first-generation graduates.

Since first-generation college students tend not to receive as much help from their parents during their time in college, USC wanted to allow students to learn about career and life advice.

There aren’t many requirements to join the program as a protégé. On the website, it states that candidates must maintain good academic standing, be currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at USC, have completed one full semester of classes at USC, with the exception of first-semester transfer students, and be enrolled in undergraduate classes for both fall and spring semesters.

The program runs from September to April in one academic year. Every month the program holds workshops that all protégés and mentors have to participate in. However, this allows everyone to network and interact with each other, focusing on career exploration and development.

According to their mentoring program’s website shared below, one “will gain professional development and career direction while fostering a relationship with a person who can be a mentor and role model”.  This gives students in the mentoring program a chance to make personal connections with their mentors and learn how to prepare themselves for the future.

After going through this program, some mentors and protégés have kept in touch, and all of them have secured internships in different industries. On the USC website, one of the protégés said, “I did not expect to find confidence in my skills, but this helped me develop confidence and become less afraid of attending networking events and career fairs.”

Here is the USC website for more information about the program: https://careers.usc.edu/students/find-a-mentor/firstgenprogram/