March 2021 Newsletter
SPECIAL UPDATE! 603WW Mentorship Program
The overall vision of the 603WW Mentorship Program focuses upon providing career awareness, preparation, and counseling to undergraduate brethren; developing a highly organized network of professionals for mutual and life-long support, education, and advice; and organizing activities supporting personal and professional growth. As with any endeavor, the aforementioned vision and mission will take time to build. Foundational efforts of the 603WW Mentorship committee have been on building a 603WW Career Network, currently using the LinkedIn platform, working with seniors on employment opportunities, and developing internship opportunities for underclassmen.
Although the pandemic has provided challenges to bringing the vision and mission of the 603WW Mentorship Program to fruition, the efforts of several 603WW men have pushed forward the three immediate goals: building the career network, connecting students to employment and internship opportunities, and maintaining communications with the actives. Connor Horning ’24 has done an exceptional job of providing two-way communication between the 603WW Mentorship committee and the 603WW actives. He has provided information on and for seniors looking for employment, underclassmen looking for summer jobs and internships, and actives interested in graduate school. He has also coordinated Zoom meetings between committee members and the actives. Mike Shaver ’73, Marcus Manges ’10, Don Feeney ’07, Kevin Gearheart ’98, and John Meyer ’05 have been the “boots on the ground” with connecting actives with employment and internships, primarily throughout the Indianapolis area. Our next organizational challenge will be extending the network to other areas of the state and country. Hopefully, the 603WW Career Network will be the bridge to this goal.
603WW Career Network
The 603WW Career Network currently has one hundred fourteen (114) 603WW alumni and actives. The platform provides an opportunity to connect with other 603WW men both personally and professionally. Actives could use the website to research potential career pathways and connect with alumni who could provide mentorship. The platform has also been used to post resumes of current actives for potential connections and employment opportunities. Also, announcement for 603WW career events have been announced. The platform offers great potential to extend mentorship programming. Discussions have started around the best use of the platform. Any active or alumni can join the network by sending a personal LinkedIn invitation to either Marcus Manges (Marcus Manges | LinkedIn) or David Benak (David Benak | LinkedIn). We will accept your personal invitation and send you a network invitation.
Employment
Currently, there are five members of the class of 2021 and one member of the class of 2020 seeking employment. Fields of interest include of business, Management, Marketing, Sales, Public Relations, Insurance, Law Enforcement, Government, Data Analysis, and Energy Production. Although we have a same group of alumni supporting employment efforts of the actives, the influence of the alumni group is limited by profession and by venue. If you have any need or know someone who has a need, please contact us, contacts listed below.
As we have noted to the actives, the efforts of the 603WW Mentorship Program are supplemental to the Career Services Department of the college. The actives primary employment efforts should be through the college placement service. The college has a formal program and an extensive network of potential employers. However, especially during times of economic uncertainty, some students may fall through the cracks. If our network can assist a few additional students in becoming gainfully employed, everyone benefits.
We are happy to announce that through the efforts of the committee, we have been able to help secure several interviews, some coaching, and that this has resulted in 2 job offers. However, there is work to be done – if you or your company is interested in hiring recent college grads, please reach out to Marcus or Dave to see if any of the active seniors could be a fit.
Internships
There are currently twenty-four (24) actives who are interested in internship possibilities in a wide range of occupational areas. Alumni supporting our internship efforts include Shane Beaman ’18, Financial Advisor with Northwest Mutual, and Ben Scanlon ’04, Director of Product Development with Zenith Products. Mike Shaver has been working with Penske Entertainment to secure internships and potential careers for actives.
The committee will be hosting another zoom call this month for any actives still looking for internships. They have been compiling a list of Indianapolis connections who are bringing in interns this summer, but would welcome more opportunities.
David R. Benak, Ed.D. ’78 Chair
Marcus Manges ’10 Co-Chair
603WW Employment or Internship Contacts
Kevin Gearheart kevingearheart@gmail.com
Marcus Manges marcus.manges@gmail.com
John Meyer signaturelonestar@yahoo.com
Mike Shaver wabsci@aol.com
Don Feeney dnldfeeney@gmail.com
Dave Benak benakd@icloud.com
DATES TO REMEMBER!
June 4-6, 2021….DELT BIG BASH WEEKEND at Camp Rotary
A listing of weekend activities is coming soon.
Need Lodging? Below is a link to the Best Western for special rates: Best Western-Delt Big Bash Weekend
November 12-14, 2021….Monon Bell Game Weekend
Lodging for the Monon Bell Weekend can be made here by clicking on the link below: Best Western-Monon Bell Weekend
GRADUATE SCHOOL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!
As you may be aware, the Board of Directors of 603 WW Inc. has initiated a new program which directly benefits the Delt undergraduates at Wabash College. We are offering to Juniors and Seniors a cost sharing program for those individuals who wish to take graduate school prep courses for Admission Testing to Graduate Schools. This program offers a one-time reimburse to undergraduates for ½ of the total cost of the prep course up to $1,000.00. The cost of this program is projected to be approximately $8,000.00 per year according to Mark Noffsinger, MD ’78 the Chairman of the Committee. Mark noted that the goal of his Committee is to raise sufficient endowment funds so that the program pays for itself each year.
Currently funds are being raised to support this program. If you would like to contribute, please contact either Mark Noffsinger at eglelk5@aol.com or Rob Matthews at 603ww1@gmail.com.