College of Fellows Mentorship Program – A Successful Launch!

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By Rod Stanley, APR, FCPRS and Daniel Granger, C.M., APR, FCPRS


The CPRS College of Fellows Mentorship Program kicked off on September 21 with 18 CPRS Fellows registered as Mentors and the first 30 Mentees signing up within 24 hours. This resoundingly successful start to the pilot project testifies to the CPRS membership’s appetite for this high value offering.
 
Over the coming weeks and months, Mentors and Mentees will learn to use MentorCity, an accessible and dedicated platform that matches mentors with mentees and helps develop mutually beneficial learning relationships.
 
Most Mentees are students or early to mid-career practitioners who are national members of CPRS. The program is a cost-free benefit to both Mentees and Mentors. 
 
Through the platform’s matching process, Mentees will be able to identify their preferred Mentor based on their needs and prospective Mentor’s experience, expertise, and values. For instance, Mentees may be looking for advice regarding job searches, career growth, or ethics, or to get feedback on communication materials or planning, develop professional networks, learn about working in various industry sectors, prepare for the PRK exam/accreditation, etc.
 
In exchange, Mentees will offer Mentors insights into how the younger demographic thinks and about advances in technology, emerging PR trends, and so forth. Discussions should prove extremely valuable for both parties, making this program an overall success.
 
This program won’t replace existing mentorship initiatives at local member society level. Rather, it will expand mentorship within the CPRS from coast to coast, wherever members work, be it in private or public organizations or consulting firms.  
 
Stay tuned for more exciting stories about the new CofF Mentorship Program in the upcoming months. The pilot project will end on March 31, 2023; then, the program’s next phase will be rolled out to meet additional needs of the membership.
 
The Mentorship Program is jointly sponsored by the CPRS College of Fellows and ACJ Communication.
 
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