The number of mentors for students in the College of Business at Florida International University (FIU) grew by almost 20 percent for the 2016-17 academic year, as more professionals stepped forward to help students prepare for the business world.

Jose Aldrich, acting dean of the college, shared this information as he welcomed mentors and students to the mentoring program’s kickoff breakfast on campus on September 22, 2016.

“This year we have 140 mentors, including 10 from outside of Florida,” said Aldrich, who reported that 117 mentors were in the program last year. Nearly 300 students applied for the program, which now includes online students, including international students.

Aldrich thanked FIU alum Andre Teixeira (BAcc ’92, MAcc ’93), chief financial officer for The Graham Companies. The company made a generous donation to the mentoring program which was used to purchase Valor Connect, a mobile app that makes it easier for mentors and students to connect, and allows mentors to connect and network with each other.

Jennifer Quintana (BA ’07), director of Alumni Relations for the College of Business, added her thanks as did mentoring program manager Yanyn San Luis, (BA ’10), assistant director of alumni relations in the Office of Advancement.

Connecting with students is more important than ever.

With the number of Fortune 500 companies recruiting at FIU – 240 currently, up from 80 last year – mentoring is more important than ever.

Miguel Horvath (BBA ’00 MSF ‘15), a private wealth advisor at Horvath Wealth Management, has mentored FIU business students for seven years.

“When I was a senior at FIU, I didn’t have a program guide,” he pointed out to attendees at the breakfast. “I had to go out on my own.”

Horvath said he knows his mentoring has made a difference in the lives of students.

“Kids are often going in twenty different directions,” he said. “Through mentoring we can help them better define where they want to go and help them figure out if their career track is truly what they want to do.”