UBC Reports | Vol.
51 | No. 6 |
Jun. 2, 2005
By Brenda Austin
Andrea Burgoyne, a theatre major participating in the Faculty
of Arts tri-mentorship program, enjoyed her experience at
the Granville Island Arts Club where she was paired with Stephanie
Hargreaves, a UBC alumna, now working as the Artist Liaison.
“Stephanie gave me opportunities to work in new environments
with professionals in the field,” says Burgoyne. “I
learned there are many roles to be filled in the industry,
so my vision of theatre as a career became a reality.”
The Faculty of Arts tri-mentorship program, launched this
year, matches a professional with a third- or fourth-year
student to support career and life planning after graduation.
In turn, the student is matched with a first-year student,
from the Arts One or Foundations programs, to support the
student’s academic career path.
Burgoyne met her first year student, Marshall McMahen, at
the tri-mentoring launch October 2004. They met a few times
over the course of the term, toured the Arts Club together
and attended one of each other’s theatrical events.
Burgoyne shared her knowledge about the courses she had
taken over three years at UBC, and learned from McMahen what
it was like for someone else coming to the university for
the first time.
Hargreaves attended the tri-mentoring launch too, and although
she had hired summer interns before did not have a clear idea
of the procedure for mentoring.
“I followed the best course I could to expose Andrea
to the Arts Club,” she says. “She was here five
or six times on several projects. She helped with a workshop
for a new play at the ReAct Festival on Granville Island and
had a stage management role for a show at World Theatre Day
at the Waterfront Theatre.”
“She asked questions,” says Hargreaves, “and
I gave her some jobs I thought she was suited for, and some
jobs that I needed completed, such as archiving. Andrea is
a born stage manager.”
The experience worked well for all three and they were asked
to present their opinions on the program at the March 2005
wrap-up session attended by the other 19 triads of arts alumni,
senior and junior student mentoring participants.
The Arts Co-op Students’ Association runs another
excellent mentorship program. It is a completely student-run
peer-mentorship program through which senior co-op students
support new co-op students in their job search with advice
and suggestions. This ongoing program attracts 50-70 pairs
each year.
The tri-mentorship program will continue in the 2005-06
year.
