Madison Hillel is seeking professionals to mentor students, as part of its new LaunchPad initiative, a program founded by undergraduates but now supported by staff.
LaunchPad seeks to help launch University of Wisconsin-Madison students into their careers. It has held workshops on topics like “Interviewing 101” and “Career Branding – How to Stand Out,” but a key component is also a mentorship program that pairs professionals with students.
LaunchPad is, itself, mid-launch. Last year, it sponsored one mentee-mentor relationship. Now, it has 45. Soon, it may have 150.
“LaunchPad is always looking for alumni and community members who want to give back by mentoring the next generation of students,” said Greg Steinberger, CEO of Hillel at UW–Madison.
“Interested mentors can join the National Jewish Career Networking platform and also let us know you want to be in the LaunchPad program,” Steinberger said. “For LaunchPad the first step is to apply—we’ll then set up a conversation to get to know you and explore how you might fit into the program.”
The National Jewish Career Networking platform is at Network.hillel.org. Also, contact launchpad@uwhillel.org.
Mentors have been in marketing, advertising, general business, consulting, entrepreneurship and law. The greatest need is STEM, including women in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Mentors can be out of town, but there are in-person opportunities to participate, like a Mentor Brunch with students that was held in March. That makes nearby Milwaukee a great potential source for more mentors of all kinds, according to organizers.
“There’s no formula—it really depends,” said Greg Steinberger, CEO of Hillel at UW–Madison. “These are real people, not resumes. We take the time to understand our students and get to know our mentors, so when we make a match, it’s based on more than just what’s on paper.”
UW-Madison undergraduate Ari Rosenblatt, senior advancement intern with Hillel Milwaukee, co-founded LaunchPad about a year ago with J. Haley Ginzburg, a student who has since graduated.
Rosenblatt, who is also on the Madison Hillel board of directors, is deeply involved with the growth of the program she co-founded. She wants the program to increasingly address key questions for students, as in, “How do you build a relationship with someone?”
“Then how do we scale that? Because if we’re at 45 right now, how do we scale it? What if it’s three times bigger? So it’s a work in progress, for sure, and this is definitely something that I know Hillel is really committed to working on, and [the] board of directors are committed to trying to make this happen.”
Gathering feedback has been a key part of our pilot this semester,” said Greg Steinberger, CEO of Hillel at UW–Madison. “We’re asking mentors to reflect on their experience—what it was like when their mentee first reached out, how that initial connection felt, and how the relationship is developing. That input is essential as we grow and strengthen the program.”
Rosenblatt and a couple other students on a committee are set to graduate next year, and she is thinking about how the energy and excitement for the program can continue.
Rosenblatt is a communications and sociology student, from Danville, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her dream: “Students like me who are involved, 20 years from now, will come back, and then we can give back.”
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Seeking mentors
- Madison Hillel’s LaunchPad is seeking alumni or others in the community who would like to be mentors
- More information: Instagram.com/uwhillellaunchpad and Network.hillel.org.
- If interested, contact launchpad@uwhillel.org.
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