The 2012 AEJMC conference holds great promise as we celebrate the organization’s centennial anniversary. The Chicago conference is expected to draw a large number of participants including many first time conference attendees.

For many first time conference participants, the experience may seem overwhelming at times. Some people may be unclear what a poster session is and how it may be different than a scholar to scholar session (it is not). Many are not sure about which social they may attend and what the best strategies are for meeting new people.

During the 2011 conference in Saint Louis, the membership committee of AEJMC decided to establish an exciting new mentorship program that aims to welcome and acclimate first time conference attendees.

The idea behind the mentorship program is to match veteran conference goers with first time attendees. We hope that as a mentor, you will help introduce the newcomers to the conference, explain some of the key concepts and help them find their way around by introducing them to other members.

If you would like to serve as a mentor, please email the membership chair of the division or interest group that you are most active in. We will ask the membership chairs to help us with the matching process.

If you have any questions about the mentorship program or would like more information, please feel free to email me at gjgolan@syr.edu or any of the other membership committee members.

We are all very excited about the mentorship program and we hope that you will participate in it.

Sincerely,

Guy J. Golan
AEJMC, Membership Committee Chair
Syracuse University