You can lead students to a list of alumni contacts, but getting them to take the scary step of calling a complete stranger for advice is tough.

Unless it counts on their grade.

So, the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has decided to make the experience of calling an alum for advice a required part of several introductory courses. The idea, dreamed up by the college's Career Development Office, was tried out in the 1997 spring semester with 111 students in three courses, and it was so successful that the program earned an award from the State University of New York Career Development Organization.

"The faculty have been receptive and enthusiastic," said Bill Alberta, director of the Career Development Office, noting that every faculty member who has participated wants to continue the program and that other classes will be added in the fall.

"It causes the student to actually make contact with a stranger, calling somebody they don't know from Adam," explained David Brown, a senior extension associate who teaches Food Science 102. "At least they have something in common, that they both went to Cornell and took food science. It also shows them career opportunities and helps them to be aware of the Career Development Office and the services it can offer them."

The program helps teachers, too. "Any contact students can get with people who have graduated is helpful," Brown said. "It doesn't take away all the drudgery of taking a class you don't like, but the alum can say 'Yeah, that course is a real drag but you really need it,' and coming from outside they'll accept it."

The first step is a classroom session taught by a career counselor from the Career Development Office. Students learn what services the office provides and role-play interviews with alumni. "I know that some people find this process terrifying, and learning it step-by-step helps," said career counselor Amy Benedict Martin, one of several staff members who teach these sessions. But, added Sheri Mahaney, another counselor, the alumni the students talk to are usually very cooperative, "because you're asking them to talk about themselves."

Later each student meets privately with a career counselor and chooses an alumni contact from a list of over 700 who have volunteered to provide career advice and are listed in a computer database maintained by the Career Development Office.

"We had so much extra traffic as a result of students being required to see us that we could barely keep up," Alberta said. "We'll adjust our timelines next year." But, Alberta said, the office was pleased to be able to reach so many additional students and help them develop useful skills.

The visits can have helpful side effects, Martin said. "Sometimes we find out the person is completely clueless and needs a career counseling opportunity," she said.

After identifying a potential contact, the student writes an introductory letter that is critiqued by a Career Development Office staff member before mailing. "We like them to use snail mail because that's the harder thing to do and there's more learning," Alberta said. After sending the letter the student follows up with a phone call to arrange an interview, either in person or by phone.

Often the arrangements are made by e-mail, but sometimes it takes some phoning around just to locate the right person. One student, trying to call an alum who worked for a large hotel, was routed through several people and finally ended up with another person to interview. "That's exactly the kind of situation you'll encounter in real life, when you're looking for a job," Martin told the student.

But most students report easy contacts and useful results. One student in Brown's class found an alum who, he said, "told me exactly what I was going to have to do." Another, considering a career in law, talked with a Cornell graduate studying at a major law school and decided that he definitely did not want to go to that school.

Each student keeps a journal of the experience, writes a paper describing it and shares the result in a classroom discussion.

Although the program is just intended to give students an introduction to using the Alumni Career Link database and some practice in making contacts, a few students develop long-term mentoring relationships with the alumni they encounter. Brian Earle, a senior lecturer who teaches Communications 190, has worked with Alberta for the past two years and ran an informal program of referring students to alumni before that. "I knew those students right through to graduation, and a serious number ended up staying in touch with their alumni contacts," Earle reported.

Some students in Brown's classes have even ended up with internships as a result of their first contacts, Brown said.

About 400 students per year use the ALS Alumni Career Link database. The college has an enrollment of 3,182 undergraduates.