How to join as a varsity mentor

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Hi, I’m Gabe Allen with GIVEN Systems. We build custom software, and this year we built the system that the Dayton School of Business mentorship program runs on. Dr. Ross asked me to walk you through how to join as a varsity mentor. It takes about ten minutes to apply, and after that the program does the heavy lifting. So let’s walk through it together.

First, where you fit. Every student in this program starts in a class called Give, Save, Spend, where they work through the big questions about money, work, and faith. Dr. Lewis, who started it, puts it simply: that class is JV. Students can’t go to varsity until they’ve completed JV. After the class, each student meets with a mentor from outside the university for a semester, and some come back for more. Varsity is the long commitment: several semesters, deeper on both sides, with the mentors this whole program is built around. That’s the role we’re asking you to consider.

Every mentor relationship starts the same way. Four one-hour conversations a semester, scheduled whenever they fit both of your calendars. Your student leads each one using guided questions, so you never have to plan an agenda. You bring what you’ve lived. Varsity is simply where that keeps going, semester after semester, with a student who has already finished Give, Save, Spend.

To apply, go to dsbmentorship.org and choose “I’d like to mentor.” There’s no account to create and no password to remember. It’s one page.

The first few questions are the basics: your name, email, phone, and mailing address. The address is only for the thank-you note at the end of the semester.

Next, where you work, your role, and how long you’ve been at it, followed by your career field. Take a second here, because this is how the program finds the students whose paths look like yours.

Then two questions that matter a lot to us. What church you’re a part of and how you’re involved, and a simple affirmation that you’re a follower of Jesus and you try to live that way. This is a Christian program, and we ask every mentor to say so plainly.

The most important answer on the page is this one: where can you genuinely help a student grow? Pick up to four. Be honest. The matching reads this more closely than anything else you tell us.

After that, a few practical ones. Your student will reach out to you first, so we ask if it’s okay to share your email and phone with them, whether you can meet in person or virtually, and how you like to stay in touch. And a box for anything we should know: a student you already know, a field you’d rather not advise in, or a season when you’re unavailable.

Last, the commitment: the form asks for one semester at a time, meeting at least monthly, and keeping what your student shares in confidence. Varsity relationships are the ones that keep going from there. Then press send. That’s it.

So what happens after you press send? Your answers go straight to the program. There’s no email to forward and no spreadsheet to fill in.

When a new group of students is ready, the program’s matching system suggests pairs, using what you and each student told us: your field, the ways you can help, when you’re free, and how you’d like to meet. But a suggestion is only a suggestion. Dr. Ross and the team look at every pairing, and a person decides each one. A computer never pairs you on its own.

Once you’re paired, you’ll get an introduction email with your student’s profile, so you know who you’re meeting before the first conversation. Your student reaches out to you first. From there, it’s four conversations, with your student leading the way.

If you have questions about the program, Dr. Michael Ross runs it, and his email is on the screen. Thank you for considering this. Every student in Give, Save, Spend is about to make the first real financial decisions of their adult life, and most of them will make those decisions without anyone who has done it faithfully sitting down with them first. You can be that person, and we’d love for it to be you.

Questions? Dr. Michael Ross runs the program: mross@asbury.edu

Ready when you are.