Be a Mentor to a Smeal Student

About the Program:

Student protégés gain insights into career paths and build their professional networks while mentors experience the satisfaction of guiding the next generation of Penn Staters. This program requires the time commitment of one academic year, however pairs are welcome to continue the relationship beyond the academic year. The Mentoring Program was established in 2009 by Smeal’s Alumni Relations Office and the Smeal Alumni Society Board.

This Program is for the Following Smeal Students:

An alumni mentor may get matched with any of the following Smeal students who are eligible for the program

• Undergraduate students in their second, third, or fourth year.
• Undergraduate students who are in the Division of Undergraduate studies tracking for Smeal.
• Undergraduate students who are at a Commonwealth Campus tracking for Smeal.
• Graduate students who are in a One-Year Residential Master's Program.
• If a student will be studying abroad or doing a co-op, they are still eligible to apply to the program, however, they should indicate this at the end of their application, and alert their mentor of the unique situation when chatting for the first time. 

Join the Mentoring Program Database

Alumni can enter their information into the Mentoring Program Database to be considered for the 2026-2027 program. The deadline to submit your interest is June 8, 2026. 

If you were part of last year's mentoring program, we invite you to apply for the upcoming academic year to be matched with a new mentor. You are also encouraged to continue your relationship with your current mentor outside of the formal program. If you prefer not to be matched with a new mentor, you may simply stay connected with your current mentor—no application or further action is needed.  

• Alumni who have entered their information in the database in the past should click "Renew Your Application" below, in order to Opt-In to next year's program. These alumni will need to recall the e-mail address that they used to apply in the past to login and review their information. Note that a few questions/selections have been updated from last year's form, and some answers may need to be updated. Current database members must go through this process to be reactivated and considered for next year.
  
  
• Alumni who are not currently in the Mentoring Program Database can join the database to be considered as a mentor by clicking "Start a New Application" below.