Mentorship Program
The Institute of Politics' (IOP) Mentorship Program works hand-in-hand with the IOP's mission to unite and engage undergraduate students with academics, politicians, activists, and policymakers on a non-partisan basis to inspire them to consider careers in politics and public service.
The Mentorship Program brings IOP alumni and current students together for a school year-long mentorship. Our alumni come from all backgrounds and have walked all kinds of public service pathways. They come to our program with the knowledge and willingness to guide and mentor the next generation of public servants.
Dates & Deadlines for the 2024-25 Program:
- Mentor Applications
- Open: July 15, 2024
- Close: August 11, 2024
- Mentee Applications
- Open: August 13, 2024 at 12:00am ET (midnight)
- Close: September 9, 2024 at 11:59pm ET
- Mentor/Mentee Connection Day
September 18, 2024
Frequently Asked Questions
You must be an active IOP program or coalition participant. All class years, freshmen through seniors, are welcome to apply.
No. All applications must be submitted by the application deadline to be considered for the program.
Yes. While we will try our best to match all interested students with a mentor, there are cases where the number of mentee applicants exceeds the number of mentors. If you are not paired with a mentor, you will be added to a waitlist. Our team will work diligently to try and find you a mentor, but being matched is not always guaranteed.
The IOP Mentorship Program Team will review all mentor and mentee applications. Based on the matching questions in each application, we will pair mentees with mentors who have the most in common or share similar interests.
All mentors are expected to:
- Advise their mentees on their college journey and post-graduate plans.
- Be open to answering all (within reason) questions their mentees ask them.
- Create a meeting schedule with their mentee that works for both parties, i.e. once a week, bi-weekly, or once a month.
- Meet with their mentees at least once a month. Virtual meetings or phone calls are perfectly acceptable and most likely the only option for mentors and mentees that are in different locations.
- If both parties are in the same location at any time over the course of the mentorship year, an effort should be made to meet up with their mentees in-person.
- Attempt to establish a connection with their mentees that extends beyond the official one-year mentorship.
The mentee application is a single Qualtrics form with short answer, demographic, and interest-based questions. You will not need to prepare anything outside of this form.
Yes! We encourage students to apply to the program each year to make continued connections with public service professionals.
Contacts:
- For potential mentors:
- Zoe Anderson, zoeanderson@hks.harvard.edu
- For potential mentees:
- Internships & Career Services Team, iop_ics@hks.harvard.edu
- Liz Benecchi, lizbenecchi@college.harvard.edu
- Laasya Chiduruppa, lchiduruppa@college.harvard.edu