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STARs Mentoring Program Connects Alumni with Wildcats
Did you ever have an older friend, relative or neighbor who could advise you when you encountered something new that they had already navigated? You may not have realized it, but you had a mentor. Mentors can provide valuable connections, offer useful feedback, help with goal-setting and overall contribute to growth — and it’s not only mentees who benefit. According to a five-year study, mentors are six times more likely to be promoted compared to coworkers who don’t advise newer colleagues. It pays to help others!
To prepare students for success, Johnson & Wales University implemented a Student-Alumni Relations (STARs) Mentoring Program that teams up JWU alumni with current students. Mentors in all industries can offer career advice, share industry connections and support Wildcats. Students can pair with alums based on interests and career aspirations, developing strategies to reach goals while receiving one-on-one guidance from an experienced professional.
As we wrap up National Mentoring Month, here's a look at how several students and alumni put STARs into practice.
Discovering a Path Outside of Your Program
JWU Charlotte student Zacheriah Rau ’29 entered JWU in Fall 2025 to follow one passion, but he has already unearthed another. “I moved here to Charlotte in 2021, then worked as a mechanic for the past four years but didn’t love my job,” Rau reveals. “I love cooking at home, so my family encouraged me to go to school for culinary. JWU, this world-class institution for culinary, was just 15 minutes from my house, so of course I applied! The labs are all amazing, the teachers are all great, and the resources the university provides like this alumni program helps me get the most out of it. Even though I’m not starting at 18 like most students, JWU doesn’t make me feel behind.” He planned to receive his A.A.S. in Culinary Arts in 2027, but his plans have changed for the better. “I really liked my nutrition class and want to learn more about it, so I’m working with my advisor on changing to a four-year degree in Culinary Nutrition,” he shares.
When Rau saw STARs mentioned on jwuLink, he took another chance: “It seemed like a cool thing to do to learn more about career paths. My mentor, Dan [Follese], is an excellent person; he’s been wonderful to talk to. He gave me new insight into what kind of careers you can have. A lot of people don’t know culinarily consulting is an option, and Dan’s experiences opened my eyes and made me more excited to continue on with my schooling. I’m excited to seek a degree where I have culinary knowledge but I’m not staying in kitchens all the time.”
Now he's learned more than just career paths: “I was looking for culinary jobs and [Follese] was helping me with interviews, from how to dress to how to put yourself out there. He taught me not to say no to opportunities. He’s built a big network after being in the industry so long, and it’s nice to hear from someone who basically made himself and now is consulting for different companies and people. I would highly recommend doing this mentoring program. There are so many different jobs in culinary aside from working in kitchens, and everyone should talk to someone who can share what they’re like.”
“Why Am I Not Helping My Own Alumni?”
A path forger, Dan Follese ’94 was in the very first Miami Campus graduating class when he earned his Culinary Arts degree from JWU, feeling driven to seek a higher education after working in restaurants since he was 16. “Going to JWU covered that, and I still reflect fondly on those trainings 30 years later," he shares. "All the basics of knife skills, cutting, everything I learned at JWU has really been used throughout my career.” Now, as a culinary consultant for the American Culinary Federation, Follese helps lead members to opportunities they typically wouldn’t find. He explains, “Manufacturers and marketing agencies are trying to speak with chefs, but their copywriters, designers, etc. don’t know the culinary lingo, so I’m leading that charge. We help bring the right message to those agencies and manufacturers so when they go to talk to restaurants or individuals they’ll know how to speak to them in a way they want to be heard.”
Follese's experience with the STARs Mentoring Program: “I had been doing other supporting work with other organizations, and I wondered, why am I not helping my own alumni? I reached out and ended up enjoying the experience immensely. STARs is well-coordinated, and its platform reminded me of deadlines. My mentee, Zacheriah Rau, had great follow-up. We had a lot of conversations on Zoom, covering the parameters set out in the program guidelines but also exploring more. It was a lot of fun getting to meet an up-and-coming member of the industry who found the same educational path that I did.”
“Zach is an incredible young guy with a lot of potential, so I’ve enjoyed sharing with him the different paths,” he continues. “I didn’t stay on the typical culinary path, although I did work it for a long time. Knowing the basics from how to handle food to making cuts to food safety is all important stuff that you get in a classroom at JWU, but I can also share other avenues you can take. What I do, helping food manufacturers, is uniquely different than what’s being taught, and it’s a great path for culinary students. Even if your goal is becoming a niche expert or consultant like me, you have to spend some time in a restaurant washing dishes, doing late-night inventory, all those things. There’s no easy path, just years of history, experience and of course networking. It’s about sharing and elevating those like Zach who are putting in the effort to bring something special into the world of hospitality and culinary.”
Connecting with Someone Who’s Been There
Joy Ilabija ’27 is pursuing her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at JWU Providence. “Having such a hands-on program, with a capstone that was a real-life project I completed on my own, interested me,” shares the native Nigerian. “Also, the work of building up women entrepreneurs in Nigeria by JWU Professor Ezenwayi Amaechi Ejiribe drew me because I felt if I got into the program I’d connect with that. I wanted to be under the tutelage of someone with that attitude and impact.” After JWU, Ilabija dreams of connecting with health departments of organizations that work in communities, ensuring that people at different socioeconomic levels have equal and reliable access to quality of life. “I want to be involved in health promotion,” she explains. “When we think of health, we think of sickness but not about things like transportation systems that can impact health. I want to be in the field, addressing all issues. It would be nice to go back to Nigeria and put that into practice someday, and I hope to go further and do a Ph.D. in a program that would give me insight in a specific area of public health.”
In October, Ilabija clicked on a jwuLink announcement about the STARs Mentoring Program, seeking to understand her career path as a Public Health student, develop goals and maintain a work/life balance. She was paired with Cheyenne Thompson '19, who studied Health Science at JWU and later earned her MPH from Brown University. “Cheyenne explained how she balances her work with what she has to do,” Ilabija notes. “She helped me with scheduling, planning ahead and time management, such as breaking down tasks so I don’t get overwhelmed. She taught me that you don’t have to do it all at once; you can take a beat, take notes on what you’ve done and set calendar reminders to ensure you’re not leaving anything out.”
Thompson also brought Ilabija back to what drew her to JWU: the faculty. “Cheyenne encouraged me to reach out to my professors and reminded me they're on my side. Because my undergraduate degree wasn't in health I sometimes feel like I have to do research to understand concepts, but she explained we can ask faculty if we’re interpreting the questions correctly. She reminded me that they're good guides. As a former student, Cheyenne could relate. I do talk to my MPH classmates, and I spoke to students from a prior cohort as well. But it feels different when you talk to someone who has been there, come out the other side and gone on ahead. She can explain what she went through and suggest solutions. I was never judged or made to feel lazy; she understood and related. STARs gave me insight from someone who has put her learnings into practice.”
Helping Others Grow
Jason Deziel ’96 earned his A.S. in Culinary Arts in 1994 before continuing on to earn his B.S. in Food Service Management, inspired to go further because he appreciated JWU’s structure. “After working at local restaurants and bakeries, being in culinary school was a new world for me,” he shares. “I learned from it and if I struggled, I worked to get better. The way you’d focus closely on one topic and then another fostered continual growth and continual learning.”
Although he has had a successful career, including nearly 18 years with Compass Group at Google, Deziel had to find his own way: “After leaving JWU, for the longest time, I was stepping into roles with no guidance or direction. I grew by wanting to grow. I read cookbooks front to back like novels and later constantly checked out new recipes and menus online. It wasn’t until Compass Group that anyone stepped forward and helped me to bring forward my personality and help me grow in management, particularly thanks to my general manager, Kevin McConvey, and Chef Mike Wurster. No one took the time to help me with that before. Both mentors were pivotal in everything I am today.”
Deziel paid that forward once already on Compass Day, sharing his JWU experience and travels with an auditorium of Wildcats. But being a STARs mentor was something new and reminds Deziel of how things shifted in his career, helping him grow in his role and run full operations. “Once my mentee, Isabella Ochoa, and I connected, it all went so smoothly," he reports. "She has such a nice, genuine personality that we could open up conversations right from the get-go. I didn’t sense hesitation from her; it was a great experience to work with her. We were each given prompts to follow, and I let her lead the conversations. We looked at strategies, such as how to be a good team worker, how to believe in yourself and be confident, and why you should ask questions. Isabella is going into an unfamiliar, large operation, so I let her know the importance of showing her talents and making sure people are aware of them. Being aware of them herself will really help her focus and her outlook.”
Helping to Grow in an Industry
Isabella Ochoa ’26 is finishing her last semester as a Baking & Pastry Arts major. “My high school counselor told me about JWU,” she recalls. “Seeing all the equipment made me realize how modern and innovative JWU is, and that it's a place where students can truly grow and get familiar with equipment that is used in professional kitchens.”
After learning about STARs, she found pairing with a mentor to be easy. “I answered some questions about myself and then about what I was looking for. I ended up being paired with Jason [Deziel].” Since then, Ochoa has really enjoyed the connection. “Jason’s expertise has really helped how I think as I work in the kitchen,” she says. “His thoughts on how to work with others, how to carry myself and how to manage negative thoughts really helped prepare me for working in a real kitchen like I am now on my internship.”
Her favorite aspect of participating in STARs: “The connection. Not in the sense that everyone says, like making connections to further your career, but being able to truly connect with someone in the industry. As a student, it is intimidating to talk to a chef who has been working for a while. This really allowed me to see that people like him are just like me!” Perhaps inspired by her mentor, Ochoa plans to be a positive connection to others in her future career as a baker of breads in a bakery or plated desserts in a restaurant: “I want to help foster an environment where the kitchen does not have to be scary or nerve-wracking like it is for many young chefs!”
The Benefits of a Mentoring Program
"Mentorship between students and alumni provides an invaluable opportunity to bridge aspiration and experience between people within a shared community,” explains Anne Foley, JWU’s assistant director of alumni relations. “Opening these lines of communication early is so important because our students can see more actively all the choices ahead of them, talk to a real person and ask questions, and make plans accordingly, while the alumni mentor gets to share their expertise and further develop their leadership skills.”
“The value of a global JWU network cannot be understated,” Foley adds. “These kinds of one-on-one relationships are one of the best ways to expand your network — by establishing connections built on mutual trust. "
How to Get Involved
The STARs Mentorship Program is open to all JWU students, including online students, and to all alumni, including associate degree holders. Students can learn of opportunities to match with alumni mentors by keeping an eye on jwuLink posts, while alumni can sign up to serve as mentors through jwuConnect.
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