Providing a ‘Road Map' To the MBA
Mentoring program exposes minority students early on to business and leadership skills.
By Eleanor Lee Yates

New York 
Paul Riser, a Florida A&M University graduate, had a job he loved at Sun Microsystems in Detroit. However, after working for a few years, Riser wondered whether he should quit his job and pursue a master's in business administration (MBA)  full time at an Ivy League institution.
With the help of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), a nonprofit organization helping minority undergraduates plan their careers with an eye toward pursuing an MBA, Riser was paired with a mentor, Steven Johnson, a Baltimore-based engineer.
"He was a real inspiration for me," says Riser. "He (Johnson) explained the value of working for a few years first."
Riser worked out a plan to get his MBA through the University of Phoenix without leaving Sun.
"Steve told me I could be as successful as I wanted to be," says Riser. "He helped me with the pros and cons of getting a graduate degree."
Riser continues to work for Sun Microsystems, studying in the evenings and on weekends. He and Johnson still keep in touch regularly, despite the fact they have never met face to face. 

Charting A Path
There are several stories similar to Riser's that MLT founder John Rice and executive director Monica Santana can share.
"It really helps to have someone to explain the path," says Rice, a Yale University graduate who received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1992. "We want to give young minorities maximum exposure to achieve their goals, to learn what entry level jobs can prepare them for their future."
Santana, who directs the New York-based program, says although many students want to apply to an MBA program, many students of color don't necessarily have all the information they need about taking GMAT prep courses or filling out business school applications. Some lack adequate interviewing skills. MLT often partners with corporations and other nonprofit groups in holding seminars on career planning and how undergraduates can obtain leadership experiences while still in school.
But the centerpiece of MLT's program is its mentor-protégé component, which pairs business executives with students. Through regular phone conversations, e-mail correspondence and occasional get-togethers, the mentoring program helps provide a "road map to success," says Rice.
The organization connects with students in several other ways. Its five staff members and numerous volunteers visit colleges throughout the nation, giving presentations about the program. These presentations emphasize key skills students can develop through extracurricular activities while they are undergraduates. Staff and volunteers encourage students to keep up their grade-point averages and stress the importance of networking. They also emphasize the importance of having business skills, regardless of a chosen career path. MLT visits seven colleges a year, a mix of historically Black colleges, such as Howard and Xavier universities, and Ivy League institutions, such as Harvard and Columbia.
The mentors also come from a broad base of colleges and universities, including Ivy Leagues, HBCUs and large public universities. The majority of mentors have MBAs or graduate degrees; others have completed some graduate work or possess the expertise to give advice on pursuing an advanced degree. 
Santana says college students in their junior and senior year are more focused and can therefore reap the benefits of a mentor-protégé relationship.
Currently the program includes 245 protégés and approximately the same number of mentors. Most of the students involved are African American, Latino, Asian American and American Indian.
The program recommends mentors and protégés check in with one another about twice a month. Relationships between mentor and student differ. Some living in close proximity to each other have lunch occasionally. Others rely on the phone and e-mail. And some protégés are able to attend the corporate functions of their mentors to get a flavor for the business world — up close and personal.