FAQ

UCLA students are willing and eager to learn from your professional and personal experiences. We want to ensure that they are prepared in every aspect possible upon graduating from UCLA and entering the workforce. With your wisdom and guidance, we can work together to make sure UCLA students get the most out of their education by connecting with their UCLA Alumni Network. In the spirit of Bruins helping Bruins, we hope the mentorship provides lasting relationships that will continue to grow and evolve far beyond Westwood.

The UCLA Alumni Mentor Program is designed to engage alumni volunteers of all backgrounds and experience levels. Upon your approval of a student’s request, you commit to a mentorship until June 2025. We encourage mentors and mentees to connect on a regular basis (e.g., once a month phone call, in person meeting or email conversation). However, the frequency and form of communication are things you both can determine. Throughout the year we’ll offer tips on effective mentorship techniques, topics to discuss with your student and suggested activities to connect. Our team will also be standing by to answer any questions you might have. Prior mentorship experience is not required.

The commitment as a mentor lasts until June 2025.

Once you register for the UCLA Alumni Mentor Program through UCLA ONE (uclaone.com) you’ll be part of our exclusive, online mentoring community. UCLA students will have a chance to register and review mentor profiles to find a mentor who fits their interests and career goals. Once a student finds the ideal mentor, the student will click on the profile and send a message to request mentorship. From there, alumni will review mentorship request(s) and approve student(s) accordingly.

We recommend you mentor one to two students throughout the year. Most of our volunteers choose to mentor one student.

If you receive multiple requests, you will be able to review each student’s profile before confirming a request. We hope you'll accept as many mentees as you feel fit to mentor, but you do have the option to decline a student if you simply don't have time or think it's the wrong fit. We recommend you mentor one to two students throughout the year. Most of our volunteers choose to mentor one student.

Once you have approved your mentee(s) request for mentorship, you will want to unselect the “UCLA Alumni Mentor Program” box under “Offer Mentorship” in your profile. You can do so by clicking on “Edit Profile,” then scrolling down to “Offer Mentorship” and unchecking "UCLA Alumni Mentor Program." This will signal that you are no longer available for mentorship and thus no longer accepting requests.

Alumni are welcome to continue mentoring their students as long as they are willing and able.

Events and programs are not required. The great thing about this program is that your mentorship connection can be carried out as the mentor and mentee see fit. However, we do encourage you to attend as many program events as possible, both in person and virtual, to build a strong connection with your student.

You do not have to live in Los Angeles to participate. You can mentor by connecting with your student via phone calls, email, Skype, Zoom, UCLA ONE video chat or FaceTime and still be a great alumni mentor. We will provide virtual events and discussions for you and your mentee to participate in.

It is quick and simple to sign up to be a mentor. Please follow these steps to sign up on UCLA ONE.

We encourage you to complete your UCLA ONE profile by including all relevant professional, academic and volunteer experience. In addition, we have included the opportunity to answer the question, “Why do you want to mentor a student?” That will provide students with the best information to request mentorship. If you aren’t requested for mentorship through this program, Alumni Affairs offers many opportunities to volunteer your time and expertise - https://alumni.ucla.edu/get-involved/.

Send an email requesting an update to ace@support.ucla.edu with a link to your profile. 

To update your email address, go to your UCLA ONE settings by clicking on the downward arrow next to your profile icon at the top-right corner of the page, then clicking “Settings.” In your Account Settings, enter the email address you’d like to use, then click "SAVE." Verify your email change by going to your email inbox and clicking the verification link sent to you. Please feel free to use whatever email address works best for you, even if it is not a UCLA-affiliated email. 

Sometimes ending a mentorship can be confusing because the relationship may or may not have been a positive one. Every situation is unique, but we’ve shared a couple recommended actions based on past mentor and mentee experiences. We encourage our mentors and mentees not to ghost each other, but be honest and up-front with one another if your situations have changed. It takes work to make a mentorship work, but if you don’t find it to be a fit, it is appropriate to end a mentorship before the year commitment is up. Take a look at the scenarios below to determine how to move forward and end your mentorship correctly. 

Mentor Scenario #1: You and your mentee met once, but they have not reached out to set up a regular meeting. It’s been one or two months since they’ve connected with you and you’ve sent one or two emails to attempt to connect.

Action: Sometimes a mentee is overwhelmed with their plate, and doesn't quite know how to end a mentorship that they aren’t prepared for. If the mentee has made you wait long enough, we encourage you to send an email like the one below and then “Decline” their request in UCLA ONE.

Dear ___,

I’ve sent ___ emails to you, but I haven’t heard back from you. It seems like you are not able to keep the mentorship going. I will stop our mentorship now. I encourage you to not be afraid to communicate with future alumni. I know this year has been a lot, so hope you are well.

Sincerely,
Your Name

Mentor Scenario #2: Your mentee has been difficult to connect with, and irresponsible in keeping scheduled meetings. They are not respectful of your time, and being their mentor has not been rewarding as it feels like you are chasing them to meet. Don’t hesitate to give feedback, but do be thoughtful in your delivery.

Action: As a mentor, your time is valued, and if the mentee is not being respectful, we recommend you send an email like the following:

Dear Name,

It was nice connecting with you last week, but I wanted to share a quick bit of feedback. I have felt like you aren’t invested in the mentorship, and wanted to check in to see if you are still interested in keeping this going. From my impressions, I think it will be most beneficial if we cancel our mentorship. If you feel like you’d like to take on a mentorship, I hope that you would consider doing it during a time when you are more available. I’ll go ahead and cancel our mentorship on UCLA ONE to remove the commitment from your plate.

Sincerely,
Your Name

Mentor Scenario #3: You and your mentee have had a great mentorship, and you feel connected to your mentee. However, you feel like you would like to take on a new mentee next year.

Action: Set some time to do a wrap-up meeting with your mentee. During the meeting, share some milestones and lessons you’ve learned. Let your mentee know that you have valued this year, and that they’ve inspired you to continue being a mentor. Let your mentee know that you’ll be taking on new mentees at the next mentorship period and that they can stay in communication with you throughout the year and set up times to meet.