PLU’s Mentoring Program: Built on connection and care
By Britt Board
Assistant Director of Communications
When students talk about the PLU Mentoring Program, they often describe one thing first: the sense of being seen and guided by someone who is there to champion their growth.
Recent mentee Jack Helt ’24 shares, “It was very meaningful to have someone invested in my journey. Up until my final year at PLU, I had been so focused on school that I hadn’t given much thought to my professional future. Cameron [Reister] was an excellent guide and taught me a lot about navigating the professional world.”
Current biology student and mentee Tyla Schmitz ’26 reflects, “It really helped me to get more information about career options within the field of biology. Also, I was able to narrow down my career interests and get information about what skills would be useful to develop before entering the workforce.”
These individual stories point to something larger — a program designed to create meaningful connections. Behind each relationship is a clear structure built to help Lutes take confident next steps toward their career and future.
What is the PLU Mentoring Program?
The PLU Mentoring Program connects undergraduate students with dedicated alumni who offer personalized guidance, professional insight, and encouragement as students explore academic interests and career pathways. Through supportive relationships, the program helps students build confidence, develop professional skills, and prepare for next steps beyond PLU.
Modeled after the National Association of College and Employers toolkit around career readiness, the program is built to cover topics like equity and inclusion, leadership, critical thinking, and career and self-development.
students and alumni
have participated since 2020
academic majors
supported by the program
What kinds of experiences, support, and insights did you get from the Mentorship Program? In mentee Jack Helt’s words:
Connecting Classroom to Career:
“Cameron shared some of his own work with me so I could see how the tools I was learning to use in school could be applied to solve real-world problems.”
Building Networking Confidence:
“He encouraged me to not be afraid of cold emailing people about opportunities, attending conferences and networking events, or reaching out to professional contacts.”
Resume and Cover Letter Support:
“Cameron helped me develop a resume and cover letter from my college experiences so that I could begin applying to jobs even with limited professional experience.”
Honest Guidance about Post-Graduation:
“Cameron was honest with me about his own struggles following graduation and encouraged me to persevere even if I don’t land my dream role right away.”
Pathway Inspiration:
“Cameron mentioned that he joined the Washington Conservation Corps after graduating, and it helped him realize his passion for geomorphology. I decided to join as well and took this opportunity to explore the natural sciences outside of geology.”
Encouragement and Modeling Lifelong Learning:
“He also encouraged me to explore topics in the field of geosciences outside of the scope of my capstone. He helped me feel like I didn’t have to be done learning or growing just because I was out of school.”
Ongoing Mentorship Beyond the Program:
“Since I graduated from the program, he has continued to support me professionally and has celebrated each step in my career.”
About the Lute mentors
Mentors are PLU alumni professionals who volunteer their time, experience, and industry insight to support students’ academic and career development.
Five-year mentor Ben Sonnenberg ’14 reflects on what first drew him in: “I originally volunteered for the mentorship program because I wanted to give back to the PLU community that shaped me and have stayed because of the wonderful students who help me grow as a scientist and mentor every single year. The amazing mentorship that I received from my professors and advisors at PLU allowed me to learn about myself and find my vocation.”
What keeps him returning year after year is the exchange between mentor and student. “My most meaningful mentorship relationships are those that are consistent and reciprocal so that deeper growth can take place,” Sonnenberg shares. “Conversations about daily life are just as important as those about professional development — both build a successful mentorship relationship.”
Mentor Cameron Reister ’13 shares a similar perspective: “As a mentor, I see my role as somebody that can be trusted to give advice, bounce ideas around, and to think beyond your time at PLU. I see the strengths that a Lute can bring to the professional world and how to best showcase those strengths.”
Meaningful connections, meaningful outcomes
The mentorship program’s value shows up in the real outcomes students experience: stronger confidence, clearer direction, and deeper professional readiness. Sonnenberg remembers his first year in the mentorship program and helping out a student who sought opportunities in science. “During our mentorship, she wrote an application for the U.S. National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program and was funded. The most rewarding moment was receiving an email from that student after her experience where she shared that the mentorship program had inspired her to pursue a career doing laboratory work in microbiology and ecology.”
Reister also recalls a standout moment with mentee Emma Mickelson ’21, describing the joy of seeing her as a thriving professional. “I ended up running into her at the River Restoration NW Symposium and learned that she was working on fish passage designs for a firm near Bellingham. Seeing her at the conference and hearing about her success was such a great moment for me and a great testament to this program.”
With support from her mentor, Tyla is graduating this year with a head start. “Ben [Sonnenberg] helped to put me in contact with other people in the field, and showed me numerous resources where I could find research opportunities and work on skills like coding. He also was able to offer insight as to what graduate education and research in academia were like, which was very helpful, as I am interested in pursuing both of those paths.” That kind of impact extends past a single opportunity or milestone. For many participants, the ripple effects continue long after graduation.
For Sonnenberg, this program is about more than professional development. “We are all a community, and we learn so much from each other. I think we are all mentees and mentors. Even now, over 10 years since I graduated from PLU, I still receive mentorship advice from my past professors. I know that I can still reach out to my past mentors just as my mentees can reach out to me. I would encourage everyone to participate in this program.”