A mentoring program that a group of young people Ottawa executives plan to launch next week for Illinois Valley Community College The students could be among the first of their kind in the region.

“It’s unique. There aren’t many mentoring programs in this area,” said ONYX (Ottawa Young Executive Network) Vice-President Caitlyn Carrier in a press release.

The program will begin Tuesday, November 19 at the Ottawa IVCC Center, 321 W. Main St. Registration is limited to 50 IVCC students and opens at 5:30 p.m. The program begins at 6 p.m. Catering will be provided by BASH ONYX executives who will open with a presentation, followed by comments from Ottawa Regional Chamber of Commerce Director Jay McCracken on the benefits of mentoring. ONYX is an extension of the House.

ONYX leaders gauged interest in a mentoring program during a visit to the College’s campus a few months ago, where they invited students to ask questions about careers.

“Student feedback led to valuable direction in creating the mentoring program,” ONYX President Anthony Williams said in a press release.

The group intends to offer advice, support and insight into career paths and help students build professional networks and create career goals and action plans.

Williams explained that mentorships are expected to begin January 1 for six months, or one academic term. Both the professional and student agree to a set of mentor ethics covering best practices and confidentiality. Partnerships can be renewed or reestablished with a new team after the term expires.

Professionals may mentor more than one student at a time, depending on the extent of the mentoring – whether it includes job shadowing or simply consultation.

As a bank manager who must maintain confidentiality, “I can’t do job shadowing, so for me it would be more about being a resource,” Williams said. “It also depends on the student, who may simply have questions about what they should be looking for in a career.”

According to Williams, a handful of professionals and students have already expressed interest in the program. ONYX also hopes to match the interests of students with those of professionals in these fields, where possible.

Carrier said the group wants to reach out to the next generation of leaders.

“We want to make sure they go where they would like to go in their career, have someone to talk to, learn the ropes and see what’s right for them. We hope the experience will lead them to want to work in the field and stay in the field. Our main goal is to help build their confidence,” Carrier said.

Williams said mentors can also learn from students.

“They are the new workforce that is coming in. How can we help students develop in ways they didn’t know were possible?”

For more information on hosting the Mentor Kickoff, visit .