FAQ

As a UCLA student, you have exclusive access to a robust network of alumni who are eager and willing to meet you and share their wisdom and advice about life beyond UCLA. The UCLA Alumni Mentor Program is a unique opportunity for you to form meaningful and lasting relationships with alumni that will extend beyond campus walls. As a program participant, you’ll have a chance to request a mentor to assist you with academic guidance, career advice and personal development.

The UCLA Alumni Mentor Program is designed to engage alumni volunteers of all backgrounds and experience levels. You will be paired through June 2025 with the mentor who has accepted your request for mentorship. We encourage you to connect with your mentor 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. Please DO NOT ask your mentor for a job or internship. The UCLA Alumni Mentor Program is about building your professional network, personal development and gaining academic and career advice. This program is not a direct pipeline to a job or internship, though it can often help with opportunities in the future.

The commitment as a student mentee lasts until June 2025. Students can review profiles and send requests to their preferred mentor. Alumni will review your request(s) and confirm/select student mentee(s) through the UCLA ONE site. Once this happens you will be officially part of the UCLA Alumni Mentor Program.

Throughout the year, you will have a chance to register and review mentor profiles to find a mentor who fits your interests and career goals. Once you find your ideal mentor, you will click on the alumni profile and send a message to request mentorship. From there, alumni will review mentorship request(s) and approve student(s) accordingly.

You are only allowed to send one mentor request. Make sure to review alumni profiles carefully and send your request to the alumnus who best fits your interests and career goals.

We ask that you give alumni enough time to respond, typically two to three days. Keep in mind that mentors are busy with their professions and personal lives, so please be considerate of their time. If you do not receive a mentorship request acceptance, please do not send a follow-up message asking alumni if they received your request and would like to be your mentor. Just go ahead and cancel your request, and make a new request to another potential mentor. You may contact alumnimentor@alumni.ucla.edu if you have any questions.

Once a mentor has accepted their mentee match, they will update their profile to indicate that they are no longer accepting mentor requests.

You are welcome to stay connected with your mentor as long as they are willing and able to help.

Events and programs are not required. The great thing about this program is that your mentorship connection can be carried out as both of you 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 mentor.

Many of our Alumni Mentors do not have to live in Los Angeles. You can connect with your mentor via phone calls, email, Skype, Zoom, UCLA ONE video chat or FaceTime and still have a great connection. With remote learning in place, we recommend you find a mentor who interests you and shares aspects (hometown, background, etc.) that are meaningful to you. We will provide virtual events and discussions for you and your mentor to participate in, but your regularly scheduled communication is up to you to keep going.

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

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. 

Mentee Scenario #1: You and your mentor have had a great year so far, but you’d like to take on a new mentor.

Action: You don’t need to stop one mentor to take on a new mentorship. If you are able to balance multiple mentorships, you can take on more than one mentor. If you feel you can’t keep up the level of engagement with the one you’ve had, and need to decrease the amount of time you meet, just let your mentor know what you are thinking. Take an opportunity to share the milestones you have reached together, and that you’d like to connect with someone that can help you grow in a different way. Just communicate your desire to grow in this way and your mentor may even have some possible connections.

Mentee Scenario #2: You and your mentor met once or twice, and you had a great connection. You’ve dropped the ball and haven’t reached out to them, and now it has been a couple months since you’ve reached out. You feel a bit embarrassed and are nervous to reach out. You assume they must not care to continue the relationship so perhaps you don’t need to say anything and just move on.

Action: You have to get over your embarrassment and just send a quick note. Your mentor is waiting for you to take the lead, and they will be thrilled to hear from you. Don’t overthink it and just reach out. If you need some words to use, send the following note:

Dear ____,

First and foremost, my apologies for dropping the ball. This quarter was an intense one, but I got through it! I would love to share with you some of the lessons I learned with you and could use your insights on tackling my next quarter. Do you have some time to meet in the coming weeks?

Looking forward to hearing from you,
Your Name

Mentee Scenario #3: You have been trying to reach your mentor for more than a month, but they haven’t responded to your emails.

Action: Send the following short note to your mentor. After you do, cancel your mentorship on UCLA ONE and send a new request to another mentor.

Dear ____,

Thank you for accepting my mentorship request; however, after __ attempts to reach you, I realize that it may not be a good time for you to take on a mentee. I will go ahead and cancel our mentorship in UCLA ONE.

Sincerely,
Your Name