The East Islip School Business Partnership held its third annual Mentor Me Mocktail Party networking event on Nov. 30 in the school’s library, giving students in the Mentor Me program a chance to develop their speaking skills and efficiently ask questions of the many participating professionals. The event is the second phase of the program’s annual agenda, preceded by the Catch-a-Career Breakfast and followed by first-hand career shadowing.
“Our goal was to help the students learn how to use an elevator pitch and how to network, to make them prepared for their upcoming shadowing,” School Business Partnership coordinator Bridget Lopiccolo said.

This year’s Mocktail Party added a bingo challenge. The high schoolers were given bingo cards filled with professionals’ names, with the idea to move the students quickly around the room to try to speak with as many professionals as possible and win gift cards.

“This added incentive helped students have fun, while accomplishing the goal of the program,” Lopiccolo said. “We provided that little extra nudge to help them get out of their comfort zone and rise to new heights. Thank you to our partners for again helping East Islip students prepare for a future that is bright.”