May 9, 2016
When head soccer coach Darren Ambrose packed his bags for the Music City, he loaded up his playbook and fresh ideas to implement with his student-athletes at Vanderbilt.
One of those ideas was a peer-mentoring program, which Ambrose and his staff have now put into effect. While the program is new to VU, the thought behind it came about 8 years ago when Ambrose was inspired by one of his student-athletes at Penn who was having trouble tracking down post grad plans.
“One of my players came to me and said that she wanted to be a lawyer,” said Ambrose, “but she didn’t have much experience in the field on her resume. I knew that one of our alums was working in a big law firm in New York so I put her in touch with her… less than a month later she had an entry level job! It was a very fulfilling feeling that through the commonality of their experience as a soccer athlete, we could help connect people and further their goals. The idea kind of came together based around a really successful program Penn’s wrestling team started. They had a formal mentoring program which included software to track communication etc.. it was really advanced. We moved to that platform several years later and it was a great investment. The program took off and is one of the things I am most proud of from my time at Penn.”
The mentoring program idea was quickly introduced to the alumni shortly after Ambrose’s arrival.
“We have some terrific alumni in this program who hold leadership positions in the world, all of whom went through similar experiences on and off of the field to those of our current players. Wearing the jersey, the long bus trips, balancing school and soccer, feeling overwhelmed by the career process as real life approaches…. those common experiences connect them. I was so excited when the idea was so well received by the alums… Who better to guide our kids up the mountain than someone who is already up there who can see the pitfalls and obstacles below and how to handle them. Plus, as we grow our culture, every alum is going to be confident that the kids they are helping are of the highest character and have the same kind of drive and team centered attitude because they came from this program.”
To help monitor and oversee the mentoring side of the program, Ambrose brought in Vanderbilt Hall of Famer and member of the newly formed Vanderbilt Soccer Alumnae Board, Tyler Griffin, to help kick start the initiative and create a checklist to ensure both the mentor and student-athlete could have the best experience possible.
“Some of the girls who are younger don’t have an idea of what they want to do,” said Griffin, “so some of the checklist items are just about interacting in relation to different fields. So if they’re interested in nursing, they talk about the different aspects of that. Reading books together about the industry they’re interested in is always a great conversation started, and taking a personality test is also something that’s fun to help build the relationship.”
Griffin is a peer-mentor herself, and talks every other week with raising junior Cristina De Zeeuw. Through their time together and common bond of business Griffin has assisted the Overland Park, Kan. native by editing and refining her resume, helping draft emails to companies and putting Tina in contact with companies using her business network.
“My role, is not only to, you know, build a personal relationship with her, but to help her with contacts and reaching out to my network to figure out if I know anyone and how can I reach out to someone and open up the doors.”
Knowing the trails and tribulations associated with job hunting, the Vanderbilt soccer team was all ears when Ambrose introduced the program earlier this fall.
“We were all really excited (for the program),” said De Zeeuw, “because thinking about getting jobs in the future is scary and I didn’t have any references or experience. So this is just a great way to gain experience and have someone help guide you who has been in your shoes.”
“This is a great opportunity for someone like me, because I didn’t really have a feel for what I wanted to just yet. So she’s (Griffin) is trying to help me get in contact with different companies and given me opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
Through athletic departments internship program, peer-mentoring program and Vanderbilt list serves several members of the soccer team are already success stories. Raising senior, Claire Anderson, will be working in Charlotte, N.C. this summer with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Leveraged Finance group.
While the Economics and Finance major locked down her internship just after the Commodores’ appearance in the SEC tournament this past fall, the relationship she’s created with alum, Kat Caroll, goes beyond job searching, resume editing and chats about post grad plans… like many of the peer-mentoring pairings Anderson and Caroll are now invested in numerous aspects of one another’s lives.
“My mentor, Kat Carroll, is awesome,” said Anderson. “I would say we keep in touch pretty regularly. Because I already had this summer’s internship decided pretty early in the year, most of our conversations are just about life and getting to know each other better. When the time comes, however, I know that she will be a great resource to bounce career ideas off and to connect with other professionals. I think she is trying to make a trip out to Nashville this fall, which would be so much fun, especially since it is my last season!”
While Vanderbilt’s student-athletes gain guidance from a trusted mentor, the VU alum is able to reconnect and get to know the current student-athletes who don the black and gold.
“It connects you back to your Vanderbilt years if you haven’t been lately,” said Griffin. “Soccer is a community you can run off to… It’s amazing, when I’m up here in New York I kind of forget about all of the soccer stuff, and it’s nice to maintain that network. A lot of schools have a strong alumni association, and that’s a great group of people to be in touch with.”
