After graduating from Capella last year, Craig Hedgley found he had some time on his hands and new information and experiences to share. So he jumped at a chance to be an eMentor—a supporter of current Capella learners on career-related issues– through the Capella exchange eMentoring program.
Through the program, Craig is helping 3 eMentees—all pursuing counseling degrees—balance the competing demands in their lives. It’s a great help—to Craig as well as the learners.
“It made me more confident in myself as a PhD graduate,” Craig says. “Once I started, I realized how much knowledge and insight I have that is worth sharing.”
Checking in with his ‘crew’
A forensic investigator in the Milwaukee Police Department, Hedgely shares his insights through emails to his “crew,” as he refers to the 3 students. He asks them to report in at least once a week so he can see how they’re doing in their studies, and he encourages them to email one another. (Two live in Oklahoma, one in Maryland.)
Because he’s lived through the demands of holding down a job and attending to a family while pursuing his degree, he knows the tricks it takes. When, for example, the learners complained about being too tired to write their papers, he suggested switching to research. “When you’re tired, your brain won’t create much,” he says. “When you do research, you let your mind wander and regenerate. In the morning when you’re refreshed, that’s when you do your composing.”
Nice for the resume
Hedgley also sees his participation in the program as a nice addition to his resume, demonstrating leadership and community involvement. And in his work on the force, he is often assigned to help fellow officers who are going through a personal crisis. The Capella program helps him strengthen the coaching skills that are essential to assisting those officers.
But his main reason for helping is simply that it makes him feel good: “Since Capella is my school, and I love Capella, it just gives me a sense of giving back to the school. I want people to get through the process in a smoother way.”
The regular contact between these former strangers builds a nice bond, he says. “I’ve never seen any of them but I feel like I’ve known them for a long time.”
Top reasons to become a mentor:
• Share your expertise with someone else
• Prove yourself a valuable leader
• Expand your professional network
• Enhance experience in your area of expertise
To become an eMentor, please visit the Capella exchange program site.
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 10:27 am and is filed under Alumni. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
