Old Westbury and New York, NY – The NYIT Alumni Mentor Program, which matches students with experienced professionals in fields ranging from accounting to human resources, has been honored by a New York career association.

The Alumni Mentor Program, launched in 2010, eases the transition from college to career by matching NYIT students with experienced professionals. It won second place for best practices in career development from the Metropolitan New York College Career Planning Officer's Association Alva C. Cooper Awards.

Alumni mentors volunteer their time to network with NYIT students and provide advice and career insight. They are based around the world including Germany, Michigan, Egypt, Korea, and New York, and are matched with students for one year. Their role is to guide, encourage, and support students through the critical transformative years in college.

The program is led by Leigh Mascianica, assistant director of career services, who finds the recognition rewarding of the time and effort that was involved in the research, planning, execution, and maintenance of the program.

"I am amazed by the success of this program in such a short period of time," said Mascianica. "This opportunity is highly advantageous to both the students and alumni who participate, and I hope it continues to flourish as it has in its most recent months."

The Alva C. Cooper award recognizes outstanding work of association members, and promotes professional growth and the exchanging of ideas, information, and solutions concerning career development issues.

In the past year, the Alumni Mentor Program has paired 29 groups of alumni and students. The goal is for mentors and mentees to form a trusting relationship in order to share industry information, professional experiences, and networking suggestions that can be difficult to find elsewhere.

"As a career professional, I am constantly encouraging my students to utilize networking to help progress their professional development—and this is a great way to do it," added Mascianica.

She will give a presentation on the award-winning program on May 3, at the next meeting of the Metropolitan New York College Career Planning Officer's Association.

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About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 15,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 85,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

Briana Samuels
Communications Specialist
516.686.1354