June 22, 2010
NYC Commission on Women’s Issues, Barnard College
Team with St. John's for Mentoring Program
St. John’s University along with the New York Commission on
Women’s Issues and Barnard College hosted a Mentor it
Forward event this week as part of a Women’s History Month
Celebration in New York. The event was held at St. John’s
University’s Queens Campus attended by close to 150 participants.
The Mentor it Forward program provides an opportunity to
gain career knowledge from executive level professional women from
various career fields through a “speed mentoring” format – much
like the “speed dating” concept. Participants at the event had the
unique opportunity to ask pressing questions and receive quick-hit
information from women who have “made it” in their
industries.
The
St. John’s event drew registration of 104 students from colleges
and universities across New York City. St. John’s had the highest
participation of students with more than 80 registered. The 38
mentors who were in attendance were local leaders in the fields of
business and finance, nonprofit management, law, marketing and
communication, education, public service, health and medicine, and
the arts. Overall the event was a great success and the students
walked away with valuable to carry with them in their future
careers. Mentor it Forward was launched by New York Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg in March 2010 as a joint initiative of the NYC
Commission on Women’s Issues, Barnard College, and NYC Service. St.
John’s University is the second college to sign on this year to
participate in the program.
“The power of the program is in its ripple effect,” said Anne
Sutherland Fuchs, Chair of the Commission on Women’s Issues. “Just
one woman who gives one hour of her time through Mentor It Forward
will be able to share her career experience with at least four or
five college students. Then each young woman can turn around and
mentor four or five high school students, which is a total of 30
women present which translates to over 1,500 NYC youth who could
benefit from this experience.”
Mayor Bloomberg also weighed in on the importance of this
initiative. “A city is only as strong as the health and success of
its women,” said the Mayor. “Climbing the ladder of success can be
difficult without the guidance of someone who has already traveled
that path.” Some of the topical subject matter discussed at the
event ranged from: challenges unique to women in their fields;
benefits of working women in their industries; and advice on
succeeding in one’s career, etc. To watch a video clip of the first
Mentor it Forward event link to the site below:
www.nyc.gov/html/nycmg/nyctvod/html/home/tsny_mentor.html
For more information about Mentor It Forward visit the NYC
web site at mentor@cityhall.nyc.gov.
Media interested in more information about the St. John’s event can
contact Dominic Scianna, Assistant Vice President for Media
Relations at (718) 990-6185 or e-mail inquiries to sciannad@stjohns.edu.