Under their wing

In today’s ever-changing workforce, it is more important than ever for University of Louisville students to gain hands-on experience before graduation and for employers to build connections and pull in talent that strengthens their organizations.

For students, internships and mentorships with alumni professionals are strong resume builders that make them more competitive in the job market. They also give students a chance to learn directly from professionals what careers and roles they might thrive in after graduation, all while networking with alumni.

Beyond the student perspective, these opportunities give alumni a chance to connect with their alma mater in a meaningful way, often while building stronger teams within their workplaces. Wes Bradley ’08 serves as the talent acquisition director at Home of the Innocents and has worked with UofL’s University Career Center to participate in career fairs and find students interested in joining his team.

“Having struggled to find inspiring work after graduating during the height of the recession, it’s especially important to me to connect with students, share insights about the job market and help create opportunities that allow students to enter the workforce in a meaningful way,” Bradley said.

“UofL played a big role in shaping who I am personally and professionally, so being able to come back and recruit students and grads from my alma mater is something I take a lot of pride in.”

The talent pipeline

In his role, Bradley works to ensure the team at Home of the Innocents successfully attracts and hires the people who power their mission. A large part of his strategy is hiring UofL students.

“In my experience, UofL students and graduates show up with a lot of energy, passion and a fresh approach to work,” Bradley said. “Bringing new ideas, familiarity with emerging technologies and new ways of thinking about challenges are real value drivers for organizations and help teams stay innovative and adaptable in an ever-changing work environment.”

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Isaac Langdon ’22 earned his master’s degree in human resources and organizational development from the College of Education and Human Development and works as the human resource business partner and recruiter for Hillerich & Bradsby Co. (H&B), the famous makers of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat. For Langdon and H&B, bringing students onto the team has been beneficial and long-lasting.

“I have found that UofL students are very hardworking, professional and are always polite when interacting with other employees and our guests,” Langdon said. “Many of the UofL students we have brought on as interns or seasonal employees have chosen to stay and move up through our company.”

H&B provides paid internships, seasonal jobs and full- or parttime positions, while Home of the Innocents hires students for roles varying from registered nurses and therapists to finance and grant writing. According to Chester Delph ’17, ’21, ’26, associate director for employer engagement in the University Career Center, having an internship program and recruiting students is not only a great way for alumni to stay connected to the university that helped shape who they are, but also a way to gain an extra set of hands from students who are excited and eager to learn in the field they’re interested in pursuing.

“UofL’s strategic plan allows us to pour into experiential learning, which is an anchor for us to help empower students to succeed,” Delph said. “Our job is to find those opportunities through internships that are a good fit from both sides, for the student and the employer.”

The career center bridges the connection between employees and students through career fairs. “Alums have left our career fairs with interns for their organizations, so you never know what it could spark,” Delph said.

For students, internships offer an extension of the classroom, and a way for them to learn what kind of work they prefer in a real-world environment from professionals who have a shared connection as fellow Cardinals.

Leading the way

Another opportunity students and alumni have to connect and learn from each other is mentorships. Amanda James ’08, ’12 serves as assistant director of engagement in the office of philanthropy and alumni engagement, where she fosters connections between students and alumni.

“I get to find ways of engaging alumni and students in ways most meaningful to them,” James said. “I love seeing both sides and feel like I have a privileged and unique role of getting to work with both students and alumni.”

One way James does this is through the Student Organization for Alumni Relations (SOAR) mentoring program, which pairs students with alumni to team up and meet either in-person or virtually to build a connection and provide guidance. The mentorship program made an indelible impact on Mackenzie McCamish ’22, who now works as a graphic designer in Chicago, a feat she wasn’t always sure she’d achieve.

“As a student, I was becoming more and more aware that finding a career wasn’t just about what you know, but who you know,” McCamish said. “I was a junior seriously considering moving to a new city that I had only been to once and the idea was both exciting and overwhelming. I really wanted to connect with someone who had been through something similar and could offer an honest, first-hand perspective.”

James connected McCamish with an alum who also graduated from the graphic design program and moved to Chicago after graduating, a mentorship match made in heaven. McCamish met virtually every other week for an hour with her mentor, who gave McCamish a behind-thescenes look at her career as a packaging designer in her dream city.

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“She walked me through works in progress, shared industry-specific knowledge I wouldn’t have found in the classroom and opened up about her own experience moving to Chicago after college,” McCamish said. “She had a way of making something that felt nearly impossible to me seem completely attainable, and she’s a big reason I’m where I am today.”

Anika Mehta, an international student pursuing her doctoral degree in public health at the School of Public Health and Information Sciences, signed up for SOAR’s mentoring program after hearing about it from James. Her mentor graduated from the same program and provides Mehta with insight into navigating a doctoral program as an international student. Mehta called the program and her mentor a blessing.

“I’ve gained more clarity toward research, more opportunity to understand the application of the degree and a better understanding of the field,” Mehta said. “As an international student, it can be challenging, and this experience has made me more prepared to approach the career world.”

McCamish had such a great mentor experience, she signed up for the program again during her senior year and matched with a new mentor who guided her through the process of finalizing her senior portfolio, going over each piece with McCamish and giving constructive feedback.

“Both women left a lasting impression on me,” McCamish said. “They were warm and genuine, and that meant a lot as a student who was still figuring things out.”

Her relationships with her mentors have continued to flourish beyond the mentoring program. McCamish met her first mentor in person when she moved to Chicago, and now that she’s found her own success, McCamish plans to step into the mentor role herself and pass along the wisdom she’s gained through her experiences.

Keeping the Cardinal connection alive

For alumni interested in supporting the next generation of Cardinals, Delph encourages reaching out to him and the career center team for help establishing internships or finding great candidates for existing opportunities, both academic and professional.

“If you don’t have an established internship program already, we can provide assistance in starting one,” Delph said. “We can help build an internship for your company that connects with students’ learning objectives and classroom goals, as well as the organization’s goals.”

Additionally, the center’s Cardinal Careers online job database gives students access to current internships, co-ops, part-time student employment and full-time entry level positions at various organizations. “Once you’ve got your account and job posted, we help connect students who would be a good fit,” Delph said.

Whichever way you connect, know you’re making a difference, for yourself and others.

“I’ve seen the value that students and alumni get out of connecting, the encouragement and reassurance from mentor to mentee,” James said. “I love to see the incredible impact students and alumni have when they team up together.”

To learn more about building an internship program or to list your job posting to Cardinal Careers, visit louisville.edu/career/employers.

If you'd like to become a mentor to a student, contact amanda.james@louisville.edu.