Giving the Gift of Experience

There are many ways University of Texas at Dallas alumni can give back to their alma mater, but arguably one of the most rewarding is through student mentoring.

Since graduating from the Naveen Jindal School of Management, Troy Prestenberg MBA’13 has volunteered numerous times to serve as a mentor through The Power of Two, a program that pairs full-time MBA students with program graduates. According to Prestenberg, who is a director with AT&T Field Operations in Dallas, mentoring is beneficial to both the school and the mentor. He recently offered some thoughts about the value of mentoring.

Why do you volunteer as a mentor?

I was interested in giving back to UTD and doing it in a way that was beneficial to both me and the school. I received an excellent education from the Jindal School, and I want to do what I can to help those who come after me to have a great experience.

What are the most valuable ideas you can pass on to an MBA student?

Three things: 

1. The world continually changes so you must have an inquisitive mind and a growing skillset to change with it.
2. Ensure you make decisions informed by data and require that of your teams.
3. Be an inspirational leader! Have fun delivering success, care about your people and don’t neglect your family on your work journey.

Why is it important for students to develop relationships with working professionals?

I think much of success is about relationships that can open your eyes to businesses and environments you would not discover on your own. For example, I’ve had two major careers in my life serving as an Army officer and then working with AT&T. Through my relationships I’ve been able to learn about other industries, markets and trends I would not have been exposed to if I didn’t reach out to mentors along the way.

What have you learned about yourself serving as a mentor?

Mentoring has encouraged me about the future – that UTD is producing strong, capable and ethical leaders of character. It has also connected me to trends that our younger generations are dealing with, especially in terms of how they view their careers and life.

As a former student, how valuable is it that you can relate to today’s MBA students?

I understand the rigor of the academic load and having to use calculus for some of the upper-level finance classes. (It was not a pretty sight when I had to “relearn” calculus.) I always encourage my mentees to volunteer for every competition they can and to get into any class taught by Alex Edsel MBA’96, Dr. Kathryn Stecke or Dr. Abhi Biswas, as I grew tremendously in each of their classes.

Learn more about The Power of Two program, opportunities to mentor undergraduate students through the Undergraduate Success Scholars program and other campus mentoring and volunteering opportunities through the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. You can also connect with other alumni through Comets Community, an online social platform built exclusively for UTD alumni.

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