2019 Corporate Mentoring Program Leadership
SCPD takes a record 130 senior students on its 2019 Corporate Mentoring Program Leadership Retreat
Over the September 13 - 15 weekend the Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) took 130 senior students and 25 facilitators on its annual Corporate Mentoring Program retreat to a camp near Big Bear.
This 3-day, the two-night event is a unique learning experience focused on teamwork, leadership and the exploration of self-imposed boundaries. Held in the mountains with no connectivity, the students are able to focus on the experience without the distraction phone calls, text messages or email. For most students, the lack of connectivity is a first and causes many of them to ask themselves if the phone is a productivity tool or an addiction.
Student success is more than just earning a degree and finding a job. Student success is about long-term success in career, community and personal well-being. The Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) offers business majors and minors opportunities to learn, grow, develop and succeed both in career and life.
The Corporate Mentoring Program (CMP) is SCPD’s year-long capstone program.
The experiential learning and mentoring that occur in CMP help students transition from college to long-term career success. A very important element of CMP is a 3-day, 2-night Leadership Retreat that fosters personal growth, teamwork and leadership skills. It consists of lectures and activities that encourage examination of self as well as challenging, experiential learning activities designed to enhance various skills relating to teamwork, leadership, trust, communication and another career/life attributes.
For many students and for many reasons a retreat is a life-altering event. It is held at a camp in the mountains, an environment many students have not experienced. There is no electronic connectivity demonstrating for many for the first time that they can survive without it. Participants learn what makes teams effective and what leadership styles work in team situations. They develop team problem-solving skills on the low ropes course and breakthrough self-imposed boundaries on the high ropes course. First-generation students learn they can be socially accepted by students that have a family history of the college. Students from immigrant, minority or financially impaired backgrounds learn they can compete with students that were not so disadvantaged. And everyone must overcome their fear of public speaking to participate in the presentations. The retreat is truly transformative for many students.
SCDP programs are voluntary, free to the students and largely funded by grants and donations. Growth in student demand for the mentoring programs always exceeds our available mentors. This year we had 245 applications but could only accommodate 136 students in CMP. Therefore, we are reaching out to individuals that recognize the importance of graduating students with odds that favor long-term success in career, community and personal well-being. For more information click on the link below.
Howard Fletcher
Contact Email: howard.fletcher@csulb.edu
