About the Program

The K-State Department of Economics Mentoring Program is a comprehensive program that seeks to foster meaningful and productive one-on-one relationships between students and mentors. Mentors and mentees are expected to utilize the expertise of career and employment services in developing resumes and interview skills.

The program is the result of a loyal network of professionals willing to volunteer their time on behalf of Kansas State and motivated students eager to prepare themselves for success with the help of fellow Wildcats.

Mentors are expected to partner with faculty and administrators in caring for and forming the whole student.

The Process

The process is designed to be flexible enough for a mentor who is unable to visit Manhattan to still fully participate and have meaningful interactions with their mentee.

Potential mentors are encouraged to fill out the following form in order to apply to be a mentor. (CLICK HERE!)

Students who would like a mentor are encourage to fill out the following form. (CLICK HERE!)

Application information is reviewed by the mentoring program committee and participants are matched based on commonalities in their personal and professional profiles. I will work with the mentoring committee to match the mentor with an appropriate mentee who has applied to be considered for this program.

Once a match is made, I will send out a match notification e-mail to the pair introducing the mentor and mentee and providing some other basic information on the program. The student is asked to make first contact with the mentor.

At the introductory meeting, pairs complete an initial agreement document, which outlines the terms of their relationship. The mentoring commitment is flexible; pairs agree upon the manner (i.e., in-person meetings, phone calls, video chat) and frequency of communication (i.e., weekly, monthly) that suits them best. The agreement document is signed and submitted at the end of the meeting. Optimally, this meeting would occur in person but video chats or phone conversations are also acceptable for the introductory meeting. The description of an appropriate working relationship is also agreed upon by both parties at this time.

The form mentors and mentees will be asked to fill out will be very similar to this document. Mentoring Agreement: (pdf) (word)

In addition to their individual interactions, mentees and mentors are encouraged to meet in person at various events sponsored by the department. Pairs will also complete mentoring surveys that are brief web-based surveys to assess the progress of the relationship.

For more information on the mentoring program, please email me at dkuester@ksu.edu. I am excited to act as a liaison between mentors and mentees involved in this program.

Daniel D. Kuester, Ph. D.
Roger Trenary Chair &
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Department of Economics
Kansas State University