The events coordinated by the Benjamin Elijah Mays Mentoring Program are opportunities for mentors and protégés to formally get together. The events are also a great opportunity to get to know other mentors and protégés in the program. Although these events are not required, we highly encourage mentors and protégés to attend and to attend together. Of course, if your mentor/protégé is unable to attend, please feel free to attend anyways. Again, there are plenty of other wonderful people to meet and get to know.

Kick-Off Event

The Kick-Off event is the first Mays Mentoring Program’s event. It usually occurs in October and is the first opportunity for mentors and protégés to officially meet. The Kick-Off usually has a nice sit-down dinner and provides a space for mentors and protégés to introduce themselves. Occasionally, the Kick-Off Event will feature a speaker or panel to speak about the mentoring relationship.

Saturday Dim Sum Brunch

The Dim Sum event is the only off-campus and weekend trip within the program. Like all the other events, it is an opportunity to further develop your relationship with your mentor/protégé over delicious food, in this case, dim sum! Additionally, it is an great opportunity to get to know downtown Boston (particularly Chinatown). Travel accommodations are provided (bus pick up on campus, bus drop off back to campus). Of course, if you are familiar with the area, you can meet the rest of us there!

Holiday Dinner

Somewhere between the end of the semester, the start of finals, and before the long winter break, there is the Mays Holiday Dinner. This dinner is a opportunity for mentors and protégés alike to take a break from all the end-of-the-semester chaos to have a nice warm meal with your mentor/protégé and the program.

Ice-Cream Social

The Ice-Cream Social is an informal event toward the start of the spring semester. Mentor and protégés are welcomed back from their winter break with ice cream, likely while we are still in the middle of winter (welcome to New England!).

Mays Mentor Roundtable

This is a mentor-only event where we provide brunch to mentors. The Mentor Roundtable is an opportunity for the mentors to provide the program with feedback about their experience throughout their participation as a Mays mentor. It is a great way for the program to continue to evolve and grow. We continually strive to improve the program for current mentors and protégés as well as for the future. Just as mentoring relationships learn and develop, so does the program!

Closing Ceremony

To finish off the spring semester and the year, the Mays Mentoring Program hosts our annual Closing Ceremony. The ceremony serves as an encouragement for mentors and protégés to finish their semesters strong, reflect on their mentoring experience, and is also a time to celebrate the Goldsmith Mentor of the Year. The George Goldsmith Mentor of the Year Award honors an outstanding Mays mentor (nominated by protégés and carefully selected by the program administrator and student coordinator) and is immortalized on the Goldsmith Award Plaque displayed in the Office of AHANA Student Programs.