Meet members of Geneseo's Class of 2017, who exemplify the college’s commitment to community, innovation, creativity, sustainability, and excellence. In the coming weeks, student writers will highlight our newest alumni and the contributions they have made, the calling they have found and discoveries made along the way.
As a junior, Sam Cowles ’17 wanted to show off skills to potential employers. School of Business Lecturer and Internship Director Robert Boyd helped him fine tune his resume — 25 times.
“He made sure to work with me until I got it right, and really showed me the power of a student faculty relationship,” says Cowles.
His expertise helped Sam land a full-time position following graduation at KPMG as a risk consultant, as well as several internships throughout college. That help inspired Sam to create the first student-to-student mentoring program in the School of Business. It is a way, says Sam, to honor advisors and also help faculty expand offerings to students.
“I observed how hard the professors work, and I wanted to help support them,” says Sam. “I wanted to give younger students what Professor Boyd gave to me.”
Sam developed the program with Boyd and School of Business Dean Denise Rotondo. They launched it this semester, called the School of Business Peer Mentoring Program. So far, 35 mentors and 77 mentees have enrolled in the “start-up” phase of the project.
In the 11-week program, students meet with their mentors once a week to learn something new. The program emphasizes career readiness, including interview skills and redesigning resumes. For example, week six is designing a LinkedIn profile, and week 11 includes a mock job interview.
The program is meant to bridge the gap between life at Geneseo in the present, and afterward. The program is continuing next year, and operates at no cost.
"In an environment of growing enrollments, increased complexity, and scarce resources, the program allows the School of Business to provide the support our students need — especially for students in their first two years,” says Rotondo.
With the same such guidance, Sam has completed two summer internships at the Albany Medical Center. These internships and networking led him to his position at KPMG.
Sam says his experience at Geneseo has been “great” and exceeded his expectations. His advice to future and current students is “be very involved with faculty members because relationships change everything.”
—By Kitrick McCoy '19