On March 30, 2011 the Freshmen McConnell Scholars enjoyed an evening with seven alumni of the McConnell Program. After entering the program, scholars are paired with an alumnus. The McConnell Program works hard to match scholars with someone in their field of interest. Having such a network system is extremely beneficial to the scholars.
The evening began with dinner from Qdoba and a reintroduction of the scholars and guests. After becoming acquainted, the floor was opened to questions from scholars. Internships and study abroad programs were the main topics of discussion. McConnell Scholars are required to complete an internship before graduating from the program and the Freshmen will be searching for internships in the near future. The Freshmen were able to learn about internship opportunities ranging from those in Frankfort, KY to Washington, D.C., and even a few out of the country.
The Wednesday evening was well spent with scholars sharing their new plans and discussing their excitement, as well as fears, about the future. The alumni-mentoring program has played a key role in the lives of the McConnell Center Freshmen this year, by helping them decipher their future plans. With the alumni acting as a sounding board at dinner, the freshmen were able to fully discuss their plans and receive effective advice in return. Overall, the session was informative and helpful to the Freshmen scholars, and a great success.