American Corporate Partners offers professionals the opportunity to become mentors for military veterans who are transitioning from the armed services into civilian careers.
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By Rosanne Fohn

As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, faculty and staff of the UT Health Science Center San Antonio are invited to remember those who have fought for our freedom by volunteering to mentor a transitioning veteran through the American Corporate Partners (ACP) program.

Many UT System institutions, as well as other leading universities and corporations throughout the country have been invited to participate by assisting military veterans as they transition into a civilian career.

“As an U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and former Navy SEAL, I know firsthand how different serving in the military can be from a civilian career,” said Nic Walsh, M.D., chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. “When a service member leaves the military and begins to look for a job in the civilian workforce it can be a real challenge translating their skills and experience into a new career.”

ACP matches mentors from leading corporations and institutions of higher learning with military veterans who have served on active duty since 2001. Mentoring involves working for one year with a service member or the spouse of a service member who was severely wounded or killed in action. The activities include communicating regularly with their protégé, sharing time together, coaching the veteran about the job search and shadowing opportunities in careers of interest.

Mentors working with protégés who live within 100 miles of San Antonio meet with their protégés in person on a monthly basis. Those with protégés who live farther away contact them by phone or electronically.

“The ACP mentoring program provides an opportunity for successful professionals to help veterans by providing support, advice and friendship. ACP is not a job placement service, rather a career development program for transitioning veterans,” explained Sid Goodfriend, founder and chair of ACP. “More than 1,200 veterans are currently matched with mentors nationwide, with the next matching cycle coming up in July.”

What’s it like to be a mentor?
One Health Science Center employee is already serving as an ACP mentor. Melody Porter, manager of academic programs in the Department of Family & Community Medicine, served in the U.S. Air Force for more than seven years before entering the civilian workforce. She is mentoring an Army reservist on the East Coast through Facebook and e-mail.

“Being a mentor is not too time consuming, and it’s a great feeling knowing that you are helping a person transition from one part of life to another,” Porter said. “Right now, my protégé is preparing to go to school and is working out all of her education benefits. I’ve helped her by guiding her to the base education office and calling the post-911 GI Bill office to see how much she qualifies for and when her benefits start. She lives in North Carolina but is a resident of Michigan, so I’ve suggested she look up Michigan funding and scholarship opportunities because each state supports its own veterans.”

Her protégé, Pfc. TeLeah Jeffries, 20, a data entry clerk, recently deployed for 11 months to Afghanistan and is contemplating a separation date in 2015.

“Melody does the best she can to assist me in getting any information I ask of her, or encouraging me to complete a task,” Jeffries said. “Having a mentor has shown me the steps to begin furthering my education and setting deadlines to get things done. I am very pleased to have found and applied for the American Corporate Partners program.”

How it works:

• Based on experience to date, ACP has found that the ideal mentor is older than 35 and has significant work experience.
  
• Mentors and protégés are matched one-on-one by location and according to their mentoring preferences.
  
• ACP encourages mentors and protégés to meet regularly and have a total of 12 “significant discussions” during the year, to be defined mutually by the mentor and protégé.
  
• E-mentoring also is available to assist veterans who do not live in the local area. Communication between the mentor and protégé is conducted by phone and electronically, with the recommendation that they connect twice monthly.
  
• The mentoring commitment is for one year, with both parties encouraged to maintain the relationship for a longer period of time.
  
• Once matched, ACP staff will be in contact regularly to track the progress of the relationship.

“I am reaching out to our Health Science Center faculty and staff asking that you consider serving as a mentor for this worthwhile initiative,” Dr. Walsh said.To learn more about becoming a mentor please visit www.acp-usa.org. The mentor application is located under the ‘Apply’ tab and the access code is UTACP (case sensitive).

For further questions about the ACP mentoring program, please contact Janie Pena in the Office of the President at 7-2030.