College is supposed to prepare students for the real world, and large-scale networking opportunities can best give them that opportunity.

NIU has been making progress with its initiatives to provide students with internships and mentoring programs. While these initiatives are great, NIU needs to create and use even more interesting opportunities for students.

Attempting to pair students with NIU’s 200,000 Chicago-area alumni is a great start, but students can stand to benefit by traveling outside Illinois and shadowing professionals in other states.  

One program NIU has put in place is the Student-Alumni Mentoring Program through the Student Alumni Association.

“The program is currently in its pilot run,” said Joseph Matty, associate vice president of the Alumni Association. “Right now the program is just for us to evaluate student needs until the full program is available.”

So far, there are about 70 students involved in the program, and each student has been paired with a mentor, according to a Feb. 18 NIU Today release.

“The goal of the program is to provide mentorship opportunities to all students through the best resources who can provide such opportunities,” said Brad Hoey, director of University Marketing. “Right now, we have a number of units to facilitate these connections. Connections is a key word here as we want portals and access points like the Alumni Association to connect students to those alumni and business members who can.”

Many of these connections exist only in DeKalb or surrounding areas, Hoey said. Although this presents great opportunities to students, the program needs to be more expansive.

“NIU has had internship and mentorship programs established for years through various departments and colleges of the university,” Hoey said. “Now, we’re taking a more formal approach to make it easier for alumni to know where to go and what to do to in order to get involved working with students.”

Allowing students to interact with alumni with professional experience gives students the inspiration they need to reach their goals.

Creating connections in other regions can help students network with more people than what would be offered to them locally. Students would be able to see how their field works in various economic settings, thus broadening their view of the career they plan to enter. 

I’d jump at the chance to intern at a publishing house in New York in a heartbeat. NIU should offer those opportunities through alumni who have experience in different parts of the country.

“We’re doing this [program] locally as of right now, but we want to eventually make it nationally,” Hoey said. “That way more alumni can mentor students and students would benefit by getting to go elsewhere and intern in other markets.”

Pairing students with alumni is a great step toward strengthening this campus’ focus on students.

Diverse internships and mentorships can ensure students are equipped with the tools and support to succeed.