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A Day in the Community--Chapters in Minnesota can organize daylong field trips for U of M students to expose them to the employment opportunities that exist in Greater Minnesota communities. The trips should be targeted toward a specific industry or field. The itinerary for these trips might include tours of community facilities (hospitals, clinics, schools), industries and companies, a panel discussion by community leaders about living and working in their community, and a breakfast, lunch or dinner with area U of M alumni. Staff assistance for this activity can be provided by the Alumni Association's assigned staff person for the chapter and Alumni Association's Student Relations Coordinator.

Location Assistance--Chapters can serve as references for graduates moving into a new community. They can provide valuable guidance and assistance on finding employment as well as locating housing, banking, legal and medical services. Through hosting events, chapters provide graduates new to the community with opportunities to network with established U of M alumni in the community. Chapters can also provide this assistance through use of the World Wide Web by either establishing their own chapter Web page linked to the Alumni Association's Web site, or by merely listing a community location assistance contact person on the chapter page that s provided by the Alumni Association.

Hometown Community Mentors--Chapters can provide volunteers to serve as hometown community mentors to help students ease into the routine of college life. This activity could work in conjunction with a freshmen sendoff event in July or August that is hosted by the chapter. At this event, community mentors could be matched with students wishing to have a community mentor. The community mentor would then keep in contact with the student while he or she is away at school and when the student comes home for holidays and weekends. The role of community mentors would be to provide guidance to students to help them cope with the rigors and challenges of college life. They also could provide feedback to University officials by helping to identify and resolve problems and conflicts that could cause students to drop out of school.

Contacts--For further information about student mentoring ideas, contact:

Career Services Director
University of Minnesota Alumni Association
200 McNamara Alumni Center
200 Oak St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-2040
1-800-862-5867

Director of Geographic Chapter Outreach
University of Minnesota Alumni Association
200 McNamara Alumni Center
200 Oak St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-2040
1-800-862-5867