The Office of Integrative Learning and Life Design at Johns Hopkins is encouraging students to reach out to alumni who can offer advice, support, and mentorship, and it has launched an online platform called PeopleGrove to make those connections happen more easily and more often.
Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at Hopkins can go to the PeopleGrove website now and create a profile. The system will make alumni recommendations based on that information, and students can also browse the community by industry, major, location, and other criteria. The participants will be able to choose how to meet, whether virtually or in person.
Many alumni have indicated that they want more opportunities to volunteer via mentoring, job shadowing, internships, and help with résumés. There will also be an option for "flash mentoring" in which a student can reach someone for a short conversation about a specific issue.
More information about Johns Hopkins' programs to support students' life design efforts is on the Integrative Learning and Life Design/Office of the Provost website.
