College of Education & Human Services

CSP Alumni Mentoring Underrepresented Students Program

Students are connecting with alumni through the CSP Alumni Mentoring Underrepresented Students in Education (MUSE) in hopes of formulating not just a relationship but a partnership in their success. This new initiative has brought together people like Shiori Silver '13 and Natalie Vang '18 who, after conversing online and via phone, connected in person at the ACPA convention 2017 (pictured).

Mission: To provide support, assistance, social guidance, and positive reinforcement to underrepresented students including those of racial and ethnic-minority background, those having a disability, and those identifying as LGBTQ. By developing interpersonal relationships with CSP alumni of similar identities to address personal and professional needs, thus contributing to their academic success at Western Illinois University, and enhancing the CSP student experience in efforts to prepare students for a successful career in Student Affairs in Higher Education.

Goals:

  • Identify and develop personal, academic, and career goals through strategic and consistent interaction
  • Empower, challenge, and encourage students to develop strategies for self-advocacy and resiliency to persist in the field of higher education
  • Provide personal and professional enrichment opportunities (conference and webinar participation, informational interviews with professionals, current issues and trends in the field) to gain knowledge, awareness, and understanding of specific interest areas and Student Affairs field as a whole
CSP Alumni Mentoring Underrepresented Students Program

How do I participate? The program begins at the start of the academic year in early October. The CSP Team recruits mentors throughout the year, and you can join by filling out this form . The form will include contact information, functional areas in your past or current portfolio, passion areas, and social identities that are salient to you. We collect similar information from the students and are providing a space for them to share information about the support they may benefit from as a graduate student and student affairs professional. The CSP team will review the submitted alumni and student profiles and make pairings based on number of participants and information provided.

Interaction: It is a requirement for mentors and mentees to connect on a regular basis (i.e. once a month phone call, Skype or Facetime, or email conversation). However, the frequency, topics of conversation, and form of communication are things you both can determine.