Moore School of Business - Moore School of Business - School of Accounting Mentoring Program

The Mentoring Program will have its first "Meet Your Mentor" social on Monday, October 6, 2008 at 6:00 - 8:00 pm in the Moore School of Business, Daniel-Mickel Center, 8th Floor, Faculty Lounge. Mentors and students will have the opportunity to meet, get to know each other, and mingle with other accounting professionals and accounting students. Refreshments will be served.

What is the Mentoring Program?

The School of Accounting (SOA) Mentoring Program is an opportunity for alumni and community professionals to work with accounting students interested in pursuing accounting-related careers. Often these students have questions, concerns, and interests that cannot be addressed adequately in the classroom and could therefore benefit from the experience of professional currently working in the field on an individual level. It also allows community professions the chance to "give back" to the University and the SOA.

The Mentoring Program is not meant to be a job-hunting or recruiting vehicle; the students are aware that this is meant to be their chance to network and garner valuable information about the career that they have chosen so that they may better plan for their future with regards to education and internships.

How are the mentors and students matched?

All mentors and students will be asked to fill out a personal information sheet which will include questions regarding areas of specialization/interest, years of experience/education, etc., and matches will be made from those questionnaires.

While the goal is to perfectly match mentor and student each time, this will not always be the case so emphasis will be placed on matching juniors and students with very specific areas of interest first as they will have the potential for a longer relationship and have declared themselves as accounting majors. Then, seniors and all other interested students will be matched. Because there may not be a request for a specific area in any given year, it is possible that not all mentors will be matched but our hope, and expectation, is that all mentors will be matched with a student each year.

How will contact be made between mentor and student?

Once mentor and student have been matched, each will be proved with contact information for each other. There will also be a social sponsored by the Mentoring Program where all students and mentors will have a chance to meet. This social will hopefully be convenient for all, but if not, students are aware that making initial contact is their responsiblity. In this case, student and mentor are free to make arrangements which work for both.

How long does the Mentoring Program last?

This depends upon the "match" and how long the mentor/students desires to remain in the program. In a relationship where a junior is matched with a mentor, if both parties would like to continue the relationship after the first year, then it would be a two year relationship, or three years if they choose to continue into the Masters program. A match with a senior may only last a year, or two if they decide to continue their education. After a student graduates, if the mentor wishes to continue with the program, they will be matched with a new accounting student. Additionally, if a match is not going as well as either party had hoped, the Program can attempt to match with another students/mentor.

What is expected of a mentor?

Our hope is that, at a minimum, mentors will be able to meet with their student for lunch at least once during the semester, make contact via email or phone at least once per month, if possible allow the student to "shadow" in the mentor's office at least once during the year, and simply be available for questions as the students have them. Anything more than this is encouraged; however, that schedule would be up to the mentor and student. The goals is to give students a professional to whom they have access as the need arises and to encourage them in their chosen field of study.

The faculty contact for the Mentoring Program is Mariah Lynch, Lecturer, School of Accounting. She may be reached at 803-777-6202 or by email at mariah.lynch@moore.sc.edu.

If you are an accounting professional interested in becoming a mentor for an accounting student, please complete the Mentor Profile and return it to Mariah Lynch per the instructions on the form.

If you are an accounting student who would like the benefit of an accounting mentor, please complete the Student Application and return it to Mariah Lynch per the instructions on the form.