Built to last: Create an intentional mentorship program that breaks barriers

When Purdue for Life set out to launch a student-to-alumni mentorship program, they knew it needed to be more than just a list of matches. It had to scale across thousands of students, create meaningful connections, and provide structure without overwhelming their team.

In this session, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how they built a high-impact mentorship program using Graduway, from onboarding and milestone tracking to overcoming common challenges like student drop-off and inconsistent communication.

You’ll learn how they:

• Structured mentorship around goal setting, career readiness, and personal development
• Built in accountability with orientations, milestones, and clear expectations for both sides
• Used platform tools like badges, messaging, and admin dashboards to manage complexity at scale
• Turned mentorship into a gateway for deeper alumni involvement, including volunteerism and affinity groups

Whether you’re starting from scratch or scaling an existing program, this session offers real-world insight into what it takes to create sustainable, scalable, and community-driven alumni engagement.