How the Digital Studies Mentorship Program is Linking Comm Arts Grads and Students Together

In a field as robust as digital studies, strong mentorship can play a pivotal role in helping students navigate their transition to the professional world. To better support this transition, Amy Schultz, the Academic Advising Manager for the Digital Studies Certificate, has launched the Digital Studies Alumni Mentorship Program to connect certificate graduates with current certificate students. The program sparks meaningful conversations about career paths, industry insights, and networking for participants, many of whom are also current Communication Arts students and alumni. For mentor Lilly Hanson and mentee Allison Ferrigno, the program became an opportunity to build a relationship rooted in shared experiences at UW-Madison. 

Lilly Hanson (BA ‘18), Mentor 

Lilly Hanson is a producer at Dictionary Films, the production arm of Cutter Studios. Looking back on her own career, she credits much of her professional growth to the relationships she built along the way. 

“The common quote of, ‘your network is your net worth,’ is something I really live by in my professional and personal life,” Hanson said. “Community and network is such an integral part of who you are—shaping who you lean on, who supports you, and who you can always turn to.”

This mentorship program has allowed her to help a current Badger build her own network. In the process, Hanson reconnected with her roots in Madison. 

“Strengthening that bond with my UW–Madison community is something that’s really important to me,” she said. “I hope other alumni can connect with that and consider becoming mentors in the future.”

Allison Ferrigno (BA ‘26), Mentee

The program paired Hanson with Allison Ferrigno, who was a senior when she applied. Ferrigno follows in Hanson’s footsteps majoring in Communication Arts with a certificate in Digital Studies, all of which gave the pair an immediate connection based on their shared academic experiences. 

To Ferrigno, having a mentor who recently navigated the same academic programs helped her understand how to make this program work best for her. Being paired with Lilly “made it easier to ask questions about internships, career paths, and post-grad life because she really understood the experiences I was having,” Ferrigno said. 

Moving Forward

Now heading into its third year, the Digital Studies Alumni Mentorship Program has doubled in size, with hopes to continue growing as more students and alumni join. Hanson and Ferrigno’s partnership proves what so many of us already know: once a Badger, always a Badger. The Alumni Mentorship Program aims to ensure that those Badger connections persist long after graduation. 

For undergraduates in search of guidance, advice, or building a new industry connection, the Digital Studies Alumni Mentorship Program is ready for you to join and take advantage of its network. For more information on the program and application process, email Digital Studies advisor Amy Schultz at amy.schultz@wisc.edu.