When the Opportunity Scholars program first began at the David Eccles School of Business, there were between 10 and 20 students participating in the original cohort.

Now in its 27th year of operation, Opportunity Scholars is a tight-knit community of more than 130 first-generation college students. The program is not merely growing in size, though, but also in scope, as evidenced by its latest Mentoring Program Kickoff event — an opportunity for students to meet, get paired up, and learn from industry professionals.

“The Mentoring Program started 3 years ago — our students really wanted to be connected with professionals in their fields,” said Franscine Anmontha, the Opportunity Scholars Program Manager.

Anmontha noted that many first-generation and low-income or financial-need students — some from rural areas — often don’t have a built-in mechanism for making the connections that are vital to their future careers. Which is where the Opportunity Scholars Mentoring Program comes in.

What began as a partnership with Career Services has since expanded to also include various alumni, members of the Advisory Board, and some of their professional peers who want to give back and help students navigate the steps necessary to landing internships and jobs.

Jackeline Orozco, a junior majoring in both information systems and management, got paired up with a mentor last school year and saw first-hand what a difference it can make having someone with real-life experience take an interest and provide assistance and advice.

“It was really cool — I got connected with somebody from Fidelity [Investments], so I was able to meet with her, and she was really guiding,” said Orozco. “She’d try to help me get ready for interviews — even if they weren’t in my field, they helped with my interview skills.”

Jacobo Miranda, a rising senior majoring in finance with an emphasis on fintech, has thus far only participated in the Mentoring Program by serving as a peer mentor to younger students. But he attended the round-robin meet-and-greet at the Kickoff event so he could get an opportunity to know some of the professionals taking part this year.

Now it’s possible that he’ll be on the receiving end of the exchange. It’s a prospect that appeals to him.

“As first-generation students, sometimes we don’t have access to mentors in corporate industry,” said Miranda. “So having a program like this that gives you access to these mentors, and having mentors that are really well-known throughout Utah, it means a lot.”

The West Valley City government has been a large contributor and donor to the Opportunity Scholars program, first with then-Assistant City Manager Nicole Cottle leading the way, and now with Nathan Webster from the Economic Development office taking the reins.

Webster meets with various business executives throughout West Valley and finds out “what their pain points are — whether that’s staffing or hiring or furthering education or a better workforce. And so a lot of that ties perfectly into this program.”

Now, as the board chairman of Opportunity Scholars, he has an “inside track” to help those companies fill internships and set students up with prospective jobs when they graduate. He’d like to see other cities and municipalities get on board and provide chances for students-turned-employees to make an impact in those communities.

“What makes most people successful in their lives are the people they come in contact with. Those around us make us look good in a lot ways, so we can be successful because of those,” said Webster. “This Mentoring Program, it gives these students such an opportunity to get in touch with so many people of different backgrounds, whether that’s professionally, socially — it opens so many doors and opportunities.”

The goal of the Opportunity Scholars Program at the Eccles School is to support and enhance the educational experience of first-generation business students as they progress toward graduation. For more information, visit Eccles.Link/opportunity-scholars.