UMSI launches mentorship program matching students with successful alumni

In the fall of her senior year at the University of Michigan, Jess Cummings began to suspect her future career might be something she’d never heard of.

“It was just like picking out my major,” she says, remembering when she discovered the user experience design pathway at the School of Information. “I didn’t know information science existed at the time. I just knew I wanted something computer-related and wanted to be creative.”

Now at another crossroads, she had a strong sense of her interests, but not where they could take her. She set up coffee chats with U-M alumni who had business or tech backgrounds, but none of them worked at the intersection of the two. 

“They were great in helping me with resources, but they couldn't be the resource for me,” she says. 

Then she got an email inviting her to join UMSI Mentor Match, a new program designed to pair students with UMSI alumni for one-on-one mentorship. It seemed meant to be. 

Early on, her mentor Margot Siegel — a manager in the technology consulting group at EY — asked what she wanted out of a job. Cummings rattled off the list of interests she was struggling to bring together into an actual career path: She wanted to make decisions, shape meaningful products, do some coding and incorporate her UX skillset.  

“She said I was describing tech consulting,” Cummings laughs.

She and Siegel, a 2021 graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Information program, hit it off immediately — so much so that they opted to meet on Zoom every week or two, instead of monthly as the program requires. When their formal mentorship ended in April, they kept meeting throughout the summer. 

“Being introduced to Margot has truly changed my life,” Cummings says. “She introduced me to a world I didn’t even know existed.”

A match made in mentorship

UMSI Mentor Match was created because students asked for it. “In 2021, we heard that UMSI students wanted a long-term mentorship program that could facilitate deep connections with alumni,” says Laura Marsh, employer and alumni relationships manager at UMSI. “We created Mentor Match to help break down the barriers students face in building social capital and expanding their professional networks.” 

UMSI offers multiple mentorship opportunities, including one-time conversations with alumni, industry panels and peer mentorship, but this is the first program to foster sustained mentorship between students and alumni. 

In its pilot year, which included Cummings and Siegel, UMSI Mentor Match paired 20 first-generation, low-income and transfer students with alumni mentors. This year, the program is set to double in size, with a goal of 50 mentorship pairs. It will expand to serve students of all backgrounds, while still giving priority to students who face historical barriers in building social capital. 

“This was the missing puzzle piece,” Cummings says. “For me, as a first-generation, low-income student, I always felt that UMSI has provided opportunities for students who know what to do. But this is an opportunity for students who are trying to figure out their path.” 

Siegel remembers the tenuous transition from college to working life. Though she has already built a successful career, she made that leap just four years ago. 

“I wanted to become a mentor because of the impact the School of Information has had on me and my career,” she says. 

In their sessions, they discussed how Cummings could position herself for the roles she was interested in, from tailoring her resume to describing her skillset in interviews. 

“Companies find UMSI very unique. We understand business, but we also have that deep technical understanding. We can translate the needs of business into technology outputs, which puts us in a great position in the world we live in today,” Siegel says. “So, how do we showcase that?” 

Because the two share not only an alma mater but a degree, Cummings didn’t need to explain herself. She felt understood. 

“That's something I had been looking for the entire time I was at U-M,” she says. “To have a meaningful connection with someone who understands my background and knows where you can go from there.”

Mentors and mentees receive access to robust resources from UMSI’s Career Development Office, including an orientation that maps out the mentorship journey and more than 20 sample agendas on different career topics — from mock interviews to conversations on industry insights and assessing job offers. 

For future mentees, Cummings acknowledges that a new mentorship relationship can be intimidating. You might not know which questions to ask in order to get the insights you’re seeking. 

“It's okay to say to your mentor, ‘I don't know what to ask. Can you tell me your story?’ and then go from there,” she says. “I think being vulnerable definitely helped establish our connection.” 

After graduating, Cummings took Siegel’s advice to attend industry events. At an automotive conference, she introduced herself as a consultant seeking opportunities in the transportation field — a move that led to her current role as a UX and systems designer at Motmot, a Detroit-based startup focused on infrastructure. “I know I wouldn’t have landed this role without the mentorship,” she says.

The impact of a program like UMSI Mentor Match extends in both directions. Of the mentors who participated in the pilot program, 100% said they would participate again, reporting benefits like expanding their own professional networks, connecting with future talent for recruiting and building relationships with students who came from similar backgrounds. 

“It’s not only beneficial for the person you're mentoring, but for your own self-growth,” Siegel says. “And at least for me, UMSI had such a profound impact on the trajectory I've taken, that it's the least I can do.” 

LEARN MORE

UMSI Mentor Match is accepting applications for 2025-26 mentors and mentees until Nov. 9. Join here.