Banter

TL;DR.

Meet an Olin alum. Find an awesome mentor. Discuss life at Olin, how to adult, what you did last week, and everything in between. Hindsight is 20/20! Borrow some perspective from someone who's been there. We match you with a mentor that you meet each month on video for the academic year.



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Banter is a mentoring program that connects Oliners—who better to help out than someone who's been there?

The program provides professional and personal support to students and alumni. We encourage meetings to happen on a regular cadence and suggest once a month (video chat, phone call, in person meeting, or email conversation) though it’s up to each match to determine what works best for them.

Alumni: You have the opportunity to reconnect inside the Olin bubble and share your professional and personal experiences with students and fellow alumni.

Students: You have exclusive access to a network of Olin alumni ready to share their experiences from life on campus and beyond. Get advice on which courses are most helpful when you have no idea what field to go into, how to deal with that difficult teammate, the politics of an internship or how to cope with the challenges of learning today.

Sign up timeline

Date (2023) Mentee (Current Students) Deadlines Mentee (Alumni 2020-2023) Deadlines Mentor (Alumni 2006-2019) Deadlines
September 13th Current student survey Alumni 2020-2023 survey Mentor survey
September 16th Mentor profiles public
September 23rd Mentor selection deadline Mentor selection deadline
September 24th Match results emailed Match results emailed Match results emailed
October 1st Deadline to schedule first meeting Deadline to schedule first meeting
~Monthly through May 2024 30 minute video chat 30 minute video chat 30 minute video chat

FAQ

How does participation work? Who can participate?

Current students as well as Alumni from 2020-2023 can be mentees. Alumni from years 2006-2019 can be mentors.

I’m a current student. Do I have to know what I want to do after Olin?

Nope, but you should indicate on your slide that you don’t know your post-grad plans. How many people even know what they want to do next week? We don’t require you to know the future, but any questions you may have regarding life after Olin will certainly serve to enrich the conversation!

How do pairs communicate? What do they talk about?

Most pairs video chat, but it will be up to each match to establish a monthly time and communication format that will work for them. We will provide encouragement and monthly topics that can be used as conversation starters. Each pair will set the tone for their meetings, but you should be thinking "coffee with a friend" rather than "business interview."

How long is the program? What is the time commitment?

You’ll be getting your match in October and we’ll be checking in with you until May 2024, but we hope you’ll keep in touch after Banter officially ends for the year. Expect to set aside a half hour per month to meet or communicate with your match.

How are the pairings made?

Step 1: fill out the survey
Step 2: we send out slides highlighting each mentor, generated from the survey
Step 3: mentees read through profiles and excellence vote on who they would like to be paired with
Step 4: we optimize the pairings
Step 5: we send out introductory slides and emails to the matches
Step 6: Banter! We send out monthly topics for conversation inspiration

Will I only be connected to 1 person the whole year?

Each match persists for one year and will be the primary person you’re talking with.


Help! My match hasn't responded to any of my emails requesting to set up our first meeting!

If you haven't heard from your match by the deadline to set up your first call, reach out ASAP to banter@olin.edu and they'll either try to reach out to that person for you, or set you up with a new match.



This program is brought to you by: Lillian Tseng (‘13) and Sara Wheeland (‘07)

Have additional questions for us? Feel free to contact us!