thankful tuesdays: my first year as a mentor

Tonight was the wrap meeting for the Marquette College of Communication Mentoring Program for the 2008-09 school year. I can't believe how fast the time has flown since I first met my mentee in September!

I am so thankful that I lucked out and got the most rockstar mentee possible. Amanda was professional and courteous and really put a lot into our mentoring relationship. She made me want to be the best mentor possible. I was happy to review her resume, give her networking tips and pass her info along to my contacts. I was so proud of her when she landed a great internship with a local ad agency. Our "official" time is over, but I can't wait to hear about all the cool things she ends up doing with her career.

I really wish that they had a mentoring program when I was in college. I'm really glad to see that universities are realizing that their alumni have a lot more to offer than just cold hard cash. I definitely can't give up much of that, but I'm happy to dedicate my time and get to develop a great friendship as well!

I look forward to participating again next year.

milwaukee props: marquette madness

Even though we were knocked out in the second round, I have to hand it to my alma mater, Marquette, for landing us on a pretty impressive Top 5 list.

From CNN.com's Great College Basketball Towns to Visit:

4. Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

There is no football team at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That means students and alumni are even more dedicated to the men's basketball team, they say.

Marquette may be a Jesuit university with just over 11,000 students, but it boasts one of the highest attendance rates at basketball games in the country. Students at Marquette don't pitch tents like at Duke, but the games are so popular, some will bring their sleeping bags 10 hours before the game to get the best seat in the house

"It's such a great feeling to know you can walk anywhere in the city when you have a Marquette shirt on a basketball day and people will talk to you about basketball," said Sarah Dembkowski, a sophomore at the university. "It gives this city a bonding feeling."

Although the West region No. 6-seeded Golden Eagles lost to the University of Missouri in the tournament last week, a trip to the Bradley Center, where the Marquette men's basketball team plays (and where the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks play) is well worth the visit.

Marquette students, called the Superfans, are famous for their peculiar behavior, dressing up in costumes to support their team and distracting opponents with oversized cutouts of celebrities' heads.

On campus are several bars, including the Union Annex, that tout cheap beer pitchers and food specials for fans. Just several blocks from the university is downtown Milwaukee. On Water Street, where most of the fans crowd on game day, visitors can hang with the locals and enjoy a hub of sports bars, taverns and restaurants.

Of course real fans go to Hooligan's .