Then came the lifeline: a 51ΑΤΖζ Alumni Association email about its Mentoring Program. βI thought, βYou know what? I feel like I need a mentor,ββ says Hernandez, a firstgeneration college student. So she signed up.
The Alumni Association paired Hernandez with Kate Riordan, a city of Milwaukee transportation planner. Riordan, who earned a 51ΑΤΖζ masterβs degree in urban planning in 2013, spent a lot of time talking to Hernandez about her own career and her projects at work. She also served as a reassuring sounding board for Hernandez.
It was exactly what Hernandez needed and exactly what the Alumni Association envisioned when launching the program in spring 2020. βJust to have that emotional support then was great,β Hernandez says. βShe helped me when I was deciding to change majors from architecture to urban studies. She went through the whole emotional roller coaster with me.β
It would be a full year before Hernandez and Riordan could meet in person, but their partnership has now passed the twoyear mark. Theyβre one of the Mentoring Programβs 50 active matches.
Riordanβs mentorship goes beyond nutsand-bolts tasks, like providing feedback on Hernandezβs resume, preparing her for job interviews and helping build a professional network. She also understood Hernandezβs struggle with settling on a major and helped talk her through it.
βMy first piece of advice for Natalie was to be sure you get what you want out of school,β says Riordan, who wished sheβd spent more time pondering whether to pursue her own bachelorβs degree in business.
Hernandez has developed a renewed sense of confidence in her urban studies degree, which sheβs on track to earn in 2023.
And her conversations with Riordan provided a better understanding of what urban planning entails, which led to a new appreciation for why people would want to work for a city.
βYou get to reach a lot of different communities and have a positive influence,β Hernandez says.
The Mentoring Program welcomes alumni wanting to help current students. Learn more at .