Connor Donovan (’19) has launched a new social enterprise, Me.Mentor, a virtual mentorship program that connects students and young professionals with mentors for education and career support.
Me.Mentor connects young people with mentors to help them use and share their individual stories to develop new academic and career opportunities that build on their passions. Donovan’s idea to create a mentorship program was formed by way of his own experiences as an undergraduate and graduate student. He noticed the growing number of challenges he and others were under – academics, extracurricular activities, and making inroads on a career path.
“With so many challenges to overcome, I came to realize that it would be difficult for students and young adults to figure out which direction they would want to go with their lives, and to formulate the best strategy for proceeding in that direction, without sincere and individualized support,” Donovan said. “I believe we all have something valuable to contribute to this world, and with a little support, we can all end up in a place where we are fulfilled and living comfortably doing the work we do.”
Me.Mentor’s services are available to high school and undergraduate students, early career professionals, and graduate program applicants through Me.Mentor’s website and app. The services include identifying and planning a career path that aligns with individual passions; putting a story in writing in the form of a resume, cover letter, or essay; and enhanced interview preparation.
Donovan said his time at the Clinton School allowed him to explore social entrepreneurship and instilled in him the belief that it was possible for innovative businesses to contribute positively to the people and the world around them. Specifically, the lessons he learned from Program Planning and Development and Program Evaluation have impacted the way he will track Me.Mentor’s progress in achieving its goals.
“The coursework at the Clinton School gave me an opportunity to really explore the idea of social entrepreneurship and its potential to effect positive change,” Donovan said. “People are becoming more-and-more conscious of businesses and their social and environmental impacts, as we should be.”
Donovan’s Clinton School field service work took him to Angoulême, France, to work with CESi Engineering School in the summer of 2018 to help plan for the creation of a technopôle – a center of high-tech manufacturing and information-based quaternary industry. He served as a research analyst for the United States Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, in fall of 2018.
In addition to his Master of Public Service, Donovan is a graduate of UA Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in international business with a Chinese concentration. He was named the Whitbeck Memorial Award winner in May 2017 as the university’s top graduating senior.
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