What’s working? What can we improve? What can we change?

These questions set the tone for open discussion as more than 40 student mentees and volunteer mentors came together on March 23, 2012 to review the College of Business Administration’s mentoring program.

Topics included team building, financial literacy, interview and résumé building, as well as promoting the “pay-it-forward” concept for giving back to the community.

According to Melissa Izquierdo (BBA ’10), coordinator, corporate and community relations, the participants agreed that the current process for pairing mentors and mentees works well.

“We also explored the possibility of hosting more events that bring mentors and mentees together,” she said.

BB&T Bank sponsored the midyear review and also hosted a session on financial literacy and financial planning. The Kane Family Foundation sponsors the entire mentoring program.

Mentor to mentee: “Focus on your goals and aim high.”

Ileana Canizares (BBA ’12), recognized as a Worlds Ahead Graduate at the Spring Commencement, declared her participation in the mentoring program to be “life changing.”

Her mentor, Eugene Lukac, management consulting specialist leader at Deloitte Consulting LLP, taught Canizares the importance of pursuing both professional and personal goals.

“After a few meetings with him, I was able to determine what I really wanted to do after graduation,” she said. “He encouraged me to pursue my MBA, then fight for my dream job as a foreign service officer and aim to become the first female Hispanic U.S. Secretary of State.”

Canizares decided to participate in the mentoring program because she felt she needed guidance from an outside source.

“From the beginning, my mentor asked me what I wanted to do with my life, what I need to improve and how he could help. His advice is priceless,” she said.

Wrapping up this year on a fun note, mentoring program participants came together on April 27^th to celebrate at an event hosted by Game Time.