The MSU Denver Community of Mentorship Professionals and Student Scholars (COMPASS) program is committed to supporting underserved students’ academic persistence by supplementing classroom education with career readiness and development experience. We strive to expand student access and success in high demand industries.
The Community of Mentorship Professionals and Student Scholars (COMPASS) Program connects you with industry professionals in your area of study.
COMPASS is a one-semester long, student-driven experience where you receive individualized advice from a mentor of YOUR choosing.
Through our program platform, you’re able to select a mentor and learn about topics such as:
Resume and cover letter writing
Interviewing tactics
Salary negotiation
Networking
Conference attendance
Professional development
Identity consciousness in the workplace
Self-advocacy
Leadership development
Conflict management
And any other career needs you may have!
During our program orientation, we’ll provide you guidance on how to use our platform, how to choose a mentor, and how to make the most of your time with us. Not only that, but we’ll also provide you with supplemental resources such as a mentee handbook, conversation guides, industry-specific career resources, and more!
We’re committed to providing participants with opportunities to explore career interests, build career skills, and form a network of peers and professionals. Additionally, we seek to provide opportunities for participants to learn about oneself and others; to reflect on and define one’s needs, wants, and goals; and to strengthen one’s ability to self-advocate.
Inclusion
We are dedicated to furthering the career and personal development of MSU Denver students. We welcome, affirm, and want to include individuals with marginalized identities, including, but not limited to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex, religion, and dis/ability or neurodiversity. We strongly encourage participants to be inclusive, supportive, and affirming of one another’s identities.
Accountability
We define accountability as accepting responsibility for one’s words, behavior, and actions toward one another and striving for respectful, honest, and ethical conduct. We understand that mentorship thrives when participants practice respect and responsibility. We also recognize the difference between intent and impact. Thus, we expect our participants to own up to their mistakes, to apologize, and to learn from their experience moving forward.
Community
We aim to build a sense of community within our program participants. We encourage participants to make meaningful connections between one another, within MSU Denver, and beyond. To support community building and community engagement, we provide a mentorship discussion group for participants to interact with one another and develop connections beyond their mentorship pairs.
Registration and Eligibility
COMPASS is a one-semester long program that runs during the Fall and Spring Semesters.
Did you miss the registration deadline? Complete ourInterest Formand our staff will reach out when registration next opens or if we have an open spot for the current semester.
Are you an employer interested in becoming a mentor?
A variety of personal and professional development opportunities
A dedicated professional mentor to provide individualized career support
Access to special career readiness resources
Connections with professionals and peers in your area of study through a virtual mentorship discussion group
*100 stipend awarded at the conclusion of the program
*Note: Stipend awards are contingent on completion of a set of engagement requirements.
About the Mentors
COMPASS mentors are MSU Denver alumni and industry professionals whose employers are partnered with the Classroom to Career Hub (C2 Hub). Our mentors have a desire to guide, motivate, and support your personal, academic, and professional development.
As COMPASS participants, we will prepare our mentors to be attentive, supportive, and affirming of our students’ unique needs, goals, and identities. While our mentors are not experts in all areas, we expect them to work in collaboration with C2 Hub staff to ensure your career needs are met.
Spring 2022 Mentor Testimonials:
“Mentorship is an opportunity to share knowledge, experience and appreciation with another individual. It is a mutual experience and that is exactly what COMPASS did. I enjoyed my time with my mentee; learning about [their] hobbies, passions, and hopes for the future.”
“As an MSU Denver Alumni, it was exciting to give back to the students. The program was a nice experience… Looking forward to the next semester!”
“It was a great way to get involved, not only with MSU Denver students, but with my colleagues. I actually met a couple people I had never had a chance to connect with before this opportunity.”
Are you an employer interested in becoming a mentor?
Mentoring is a partnership in which one individual guides, nurtures, and supports the academic, personal, or professional development and growth of another individual.
Mentoring partnerships can address a variety of topics, including, but not limited to career planning, career development, professional development, networking, leadership development, management and supervision, work-life balance, conflict management, self-advocacy, identity in the workplace, and financial planning.
This program is flexible and can be tailored to fit your schedule. However, we strongly encourage youto attend the 1.5-hour orientation to get the most out of COMPASS. We also strongly encourage you to engage in monthly meetings with your mentor.
To fulfill the stipend engagement requirements, we estimate about 5–8hours of commitment over the span of 3 months depending on what opportunities you choose to complete the stipend requirements.
Even if you don’t know what career you’re interested in, you can benefit from COMPASS. Our mentors can help you narrow down your career interests and introduce you to multiple jobs within an industry.
