Jawad Wahabzada (’14) finds balancing schoolwork and the global promotion of his documentary “Children of Kabul” a challenge, but says taking courses you love and connecting with a good mentor can make a difference.

More than 30 of Ray Kuhn’s former students, plus their spouses or significant others, gathered in Clemmons last month to celebrate their mentor’s 70th birthday and their shared experiences as his research partners. Kuhn’s work as a mentor has grown a close-knit group that spans generations.

Undergraduate research has been a cornerstone of Wake Forest’s commitment to academic excellence. Now the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URECA) Center provides student grants and administrative support for mentored, undergraduate research and encourages high-quality programs of great impact.

When Ethan Groce (’13) came to Wake Forest, he wanted to be a leader. So, in addition to becoming a President’s Aide and taking an active role in Student Government, he decided to follow in the footsteps of someone he admired and respected: his resident adviser.

Participants in Wake Forest’s new mentorship pilot program, WAKE ME!, learned the importance of college preparation and the value of pro humanitate.

Presenting research to the largest gathering of cancer professionals in the world is an unusual opportunity for an undergraduate student. Junior Katherine Sams got to do it thanks to the mentor she met in her first-year seminar.

Politicians aren’t the only ones in Washington, D.C. emphasizing the important intersection between jobs and higher education. The Offices of Personal and Career Development and Alumni Relations hosted Wake Forest Connects, an event gathering more than 130 members of the Wake Forest community in the D.C. metro area.

The Wall Street Journal prominently featured Wake Forest for its national leadership in making personal and career development a mission-critical component of the college experience. The article, “Colleges Get Career-Minded”, appeared the day after commencement.

Wake Forest has a long history of close, mentoring relationships between faculty and students. It’s an opportunity to explore the liberal arts, tie scholarship and research and create the teacher-scholar ideal. For biology professor Ron Dimock, mentoring comes naturally during hours in the lab — going beyond the books.

Almost every university has a mentoring program — independent initiatives hosted by campus life or student development. Wake Forest is one of the first higher education institutions in the nation to adopt a campus-wide model.