"It's a program I've been tremendously inspired by," she said.

The mentor and undergraduate pairs attending the event said they have found the mentor program effective.

Irene B. Janis '03 has been paired with mentor Katharyn S. Hok '90, a pre-school teacher, for the past year. The relationship works, they said, in part because of their similar interests in education. But Janis said she was grateful for being able to talk to Hok about "many different things" and having that connection with a Radcliffe graduate, not just for the career advice Hok provides.

Ruth K. O'Meara-Costello '02 said even though she is not sure she is going to be a poet like her mentor, Wendy M. Mnookin '68, she has still been grateful for the support.

"[It's] nice to be able to discuss my interest in English with her," O'Meara-Costello said.

Steering committee member Norma G. Markson '54 said the mentors sometimes learn as much as their students.

"The mentoring goes both ways. I've learned so much from the women being mentored as the mentors themselves. We have a brilliant group of women here."