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More than 170 mentors met with students via Zoom or phone to discuss career paths, offer support, and, where possible, provide advice, referrals, and tips for success. Pairings were made based on a common career interest, major, geographic location, or student involvement and took place from winter break through January. Over 90 percent of the participating mentors this year are part of the College’s nationally ranked alumni network.

Nastia Veretelnikova ’22 is a mathematics and finance double major who is considering getting her master’s in accounting. She signed up for the program to try to figure out what might be her best next step. Through the mentoring program, she spoke twice with Alyssa Alvarez ’16, a financial analyst at Blue Cross Blue Shield.

“Alyssa gave me options that I didn’t think about,” Veretelnikova said. “She made me realize I don’t have to go straight to graduate school or get a job straight away after graduation. Maybe getting an internship over the summer would be the better option for me before I actually get a job. I thought such advice was really helpful.”

After their second call, Veretelnikova and Alvarez decided to stay in touch monthly through graduation. “She will be a mentor to help guide me,” Veretelnikova said. “Having this close connection to a Lake Forest College graduate is really nice.” 

Computer science and neuroscience double major Kyle Wallis ’22 was paired with Dave Nawara ’90, Vice President, Delivery, at Sogeti USA. 

From their conversation, Wallis learned that there are a few ways to be successful in a field like computer science. “One is networking,” Wallis said. “The other is to have the skills, the problem-solving, and the flexible thinking it takes to work in the field of computer science. I have that and I'm building my network, so I'm feeling a lot more confident about the job-search process.”

Wallis is grateful to have the opportunity to speak with someone who is so well-established in the field he wants to enter. “This program is a great staging ground to get those relationships going,” he said.

Jackie Barrera ’22 connected with two alumni through the Foresters CAREER mentorship program. A double major in French and philosophy who is minoring in cinema studies, Barrera was paired with Gerardo Gordillo ’20, a graphic designer, printer, and video technician at Waukegan Public Schools, and Magdiel Miranda-Lopez ’20, a data engineer at Ryan Specialty Group. 

“With Gerardo, we talked a lot about life advice and what to expect after graduating, since it is different for everybody,” Barrera said. That general life advice was paired with in-the-moment mentoring by Miranda-Lopez.

“I met with Magdiel right before I had an interview for an internship. She gave me a run-through of what to expect in an interview for a company like that and then we talked a second time to go over my resume. We updated and edited it a little bit to make it look more professional,” Barrera said. “Meeting alumni who have success stories after college is comforting.”

Miranda-Lopez notes that she and Barrera have been able to connect on many levels.

“As first-generation Latina women, it is often difficult to find guidance or to know how to navigate the challenges that only come with this very specific combination of minorities,” Miranda-Lopez said. “I am happy that I can provide some guidance for Jackie. I hope I can help her get a little closer to her goals and that she knows I will be a resource that she can count on over time.”

The Foresters CAREER Program is a joint effort by the Career Advancement Center and the Office of Development and Alumni Relations to connect graduating seniors with select members of the Forester network.

Related Links:

• Learn more about the College’s nationally ranked Career Advancement Center
• Explore student and alumni success stories
• Discover the power of the Forester Alumni Network