The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) has recognized the Cal State Long Beach Mentoring Business Program (MBR) with two national excellence awards, the Gold Award and the Grand Bronze Award, marking it as the best in its category and third overall.
The excellence awards “recognize the contributions of members who are transforming higher education through outstanding programs, innovative services and effective administration,” according to a CSULB press release. Awards recognize programs in nine different categories, ranking them in first through third place (gold, silver and bronze). The Gold Award winners in each category are then nominated for the overall competition, in which the top three programs are given Grand Gold, Grand Silver, and Gold Bronze Awards.
The CSULB Mentoring Business Program (MBP) was given the Gold Award for the category of “Careers, Academic Support, Service Learning, Community Service and related” and then chosen as third overall, according to the press release.
“This puts Long Beach on the map as a progressive program,” said MBP Director Anna Liza Garcia. “It demonstrates the campus and community’s commitment to students. Not every college puts forth so much money or effort to help students.”
The MBP’s purposes include assisting students in their transitions from the university to the working world and contributing to their professional growth. The program organizes activities in and around the campus community, including an annual book drive for a local school and mentoring programs at Jordan High School, Cerritos Community College and the Long Beach Mayor’s Office, according to the press release. The MBP also pairs upperclassmen with business leaders who act as mentors for one year.
Approximately 350 students are members of the program, but it serves about 3,000 students through its various activities, Garcia said. About 70 corporate professionals are involved, including two CEOs and seven CFOs, the university said.
“Our biggest supporter is Boeing,” Garcia said. Other supporters include Denso Sales, UPS and Target.
Mentors help students through activities such as mock interviews, taking them to board meetings and giving them advice about their careers. According to Garcia, there are many success stories of students who have been placed in year-long internships with companies such as Boeing and the Big Four accounting firms: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The NASPA awards provide extra recognition for a business program that has already been ranked by the Princeton Review as among the top 237 in the nation.
“The NASPA awards are a solid testimony to the success of the Mentoring Business Program’s long-running and outstanding professional development opportunities and programs,” Interim Dean of the College of Business Administration Mohammed Khan stated in the press release. “The awards are also a fitting tribute to the staff, faculty and mentors who work so diligently to assist our students.”
NASPA is an organization devoted to the administration, policy and practice of student affairs, according to the press release. It includes more than 11,000 members at 1,200 campuses in 29 countries.
