Bobcats Help Bobcats: Ohio University launches program to connect every student to alumni mentorship opportunities

The phrase “Bobcats Help Bobcats” has been true for generations. Thousands of passionate Ohio University alumni around the world have served informally as advisors, life, leadership and career mentors and coaches, and networking connections to OHIO students and alumni they have met through dedicated Ohio University faculty, alumni events, student organizations or affinity groups.

As part of the implementation of its three-year Dynamic Strategy, OHIO has designed a structure for alumni mentoring and coaching and is formalizing Bobcats Help Bobcats into a set of programs and initiatives that will ensure all students have the opportunity to connect with OHIO alumni during their academic journey, beginning as early as freshman year.

The Bobcats Help Bobcats programs will follow the framework recommended by faculty members Dr. Amy Taylor-Bianco and Dr. Dwan Robinson who spent several months exploring existing University mentorship programs and talking with students, alumni and faculty about effective structures for mentorship and coaching. Key findings of their work included:

• Students want and need multiple entry points including large and small group opportunities to engage versus being limited to a traditional one-on-one mentoring approach.
• Curricular integration is important to incentivize participation and create structure to ensure learning goals are met.
• Students who have access to not just one but two or more alumni mentorship or coaching opportunities see exponential increase in improved persistence to graduation and post-graduation outcomes.
• A mentorship and coaching ecosystem should not be exclusively focused on mentoring and coaching to career but also on life and leadership preparation.

From first-year to first job and beyond

Bobcats Help Bobcats (BHB) will launch in phases, beginning with the extension of OHIO’s traditional fall first-year learning communities into the spring 2026 semester as a one-credit-hour BHB Connections course that will align with OHIO’s general education requirements.

In BHB Connections, first-year students will have the opportunity to engage with alumni working in fields aligned with their academic major of interest to explore advice on college experiences that contributed to their success, important skills to develop during their college journey, and best practices for successful networking on and off campus.

Second-year students will have the opportunity to continue engagement with alumni through the expansion of the co-curricular BHB Meal with a Mentor program. This program connects a small group of students with an OHIO graduate to explore life, leadership and career possibilities.

Taylor-Bianco and Robinson will develop professional development resources to support faculty and alumni mentorship and coaching, and work with OHIO’s Center for Teaching, Learning and Assessment to develop a faculty, staff and alumni training program to support expanding integration of alumni mentoring and coaching in upper level and graduate level courses.

Finally, for highly-motivated juniors and seniors ready to connect one-on-one with alumni mentors in their chosen field, the OHIO Alumni Association and OHIO Career Services are partnering to launch an annual BHB Match Day, beginning in Spring 2026, to pair students with alumni mentors.

“With more than 30,000 students across all campuses and modalities, providing opportunities for every student to connect with a Bobcat graduate is an ambitious goal, but one we believe will make a real difference for students,” said Robin Oliver, chair of the Dynamic Strategy ENGAGE Pillar leadership team and vice president for University Communications and Marketing. “Achieving that goal will require us to continue to build both curricular and co-curricular programming at all levels of the institution and to expand support for faculty and alumni who will be integral to the long-term success of Bobcats Help Bobcats.”

How to get involved

Alumni interested in participating in the BHB Connections first-year learning community in Spring 2026 should complete the online form to learn more.

Interested first-year students should speak with their academic advisor about registering for BHB Spring Connections, UC 2110.

Second-year students interested in participating in BHB Meal with a Mentor can learn more about the schedule and register online.

Students and alumni interested in participating in the BHB Match Day in Spring 2026 should consider creating a profile in the Bobcat Network. More information will be shared as plans for BHB Match Day 2026 are developed.