Alumni provide valuable mentoring services

For finance major Gabriel Kelmanskiy, the most meaningful career advice in 2025 did not come from a class lesson or in a conference room. Instead, he said, the best counsel came through periodic phone calls with his alumnus mentor, Noah Heim, as Heim commuted home from a real estate analyst job in Fort Lauderdale.

Heim said it felt more like a conversation than a counseling session.

“He’d give me some questions he’s been thinking about or updates on what’s new, and if I have anything to add, I’d just give him advice,” said Heim, who graduated from Florida State University in 2023 with degrees in finance and real estate.

These frequent check-ins have carried significant weight for Kelmanskiy, upping his confidence in building professional connections from scratch and helping him formulate plans.

He said Heim’s best imparted wisdom has been to not hesitate in taking action, knowing every attempt is an opportunity for growth. Taking this lesson to heart helped him prepare for interviews, land a summer internship and build his professional network.

“Having someone to talk to instead of letting the thoughts in my head just bubble over helped me get action done,” said Kelmanskiy, who is also an FSU Honors Legal Scholar. “It was practice for when I was actually speaking with another professional in person.”

The Herbert Wertheim College of Business in 2025 significantly increased its mentoring program over previous years, pairing hundreds of students with interested alumni. It is a joint effort of Emily Balke, student engagement coordinator, and Chelsea Vaughn, alumni engagement manager, who consider each participant’s major, interests, campus involvement and current industry field to inform best matches. The engagement professionals get the conversation started, connecting alumnus and student; the rest is up to them.

“They get to set the pace,” Balke said. “It’s really beneficial to students who have participated.” As for the alumni, those signing up to serve for a semester at a time want to be engaged, she said.

“They love to hear the current student experience,” Balke said. “Some mentors even were generous enough to take two mentees.”

For Heim, the motivation is personal: “So many people helped me at FSU … you receive, and then you give back.”