Our award-winning professional mentorship program connects motivated MCB students with accomplished professionals, including alumni, across the country. Clinicians, researchers, educators, and more provide valuable insight to students through our formal mentoring program and multiple online or in-person events held during the year.
Currently, the MCB career mentorship program is only available to declared biology, MCB, neuroscience, and biochemistry majors. Students must apply to the program every year, typically in the fall. Participants will be required to attend an information session before being matched with a mentor. We try to match as many students as possible , based on availability. Our goal is to pair students with mentors who are practicing in fields or industries related to their career interests. We also consider geographic location and other factors. The 2022/2023 student application has now closed.
Each fall, The School of MCB hosts a Career Symposium for students in our majors. Several alumni and professional mentors come to campus, or join us virtually, to share their experiences and career paths and connect with our students. This year's career symposium will be held on Thursday, November 3rd from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM in the Chemistry and Life Science Laboratory. If you'd like to attend this year's symposium, please register here so we can ensure we have enough food and can accommodate dietary requests.
We have more than 100 participating MCB mentors, including many alumni, in various professions across the U.S., and the program is always looking to recruit new members. To sign up to become an alumni mentor, please fill out this Online Registration Form.
We encourage mentors to provide one or two shadowing opportunities per year (if possible) and to keep in touch with their student(s) via phone, email, Zoom, Skype, or Facetime during the rest of the year. Mentors can provide students with valuable information regarding health professions, industry-based professions, and other exciting biology-related careers. Mentors may also provide advice on the application and interview process for professional and graduate school. In return, our students keep the mentors connected to the university and the School of MCB.
The MCB mentorship program began in 2010 as the “MCB Pathways to Health Programs.” Founded by alumnus Dr. Richard Berkowitz (BS, '79, biology) and Tina Knox, (BS, ’93, biology), assistant director of advising and recruiting in the School of MCB, the program initially paired MCB students interested in medical careers with alumni physicians. Over the years, the program expanded to include mentors in all health careers as well as those in research, biotechnology, and other related professions. In 2013, the mentorship program received the IlliAAC Outstanding Established Program Award and was recognized in an article in the Spring 2016 LAS Alumni Magazine.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please reach out to Tina Knox at tmknox@illinois.edu.