50 Cups of Coffee

October 26, 2026

"A mentor is not someone who walks ahead of us and tells us how they did it. A mentor is someone who walks alongside us to guide us on what we can do."
— Simon Sinek

Good morning BW,

Last week, Peggy and I hosted 20 BW students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, at our home. These talented students are participants in the Rea Family Scholarship and Mentorship Program established by Peter and Julie Rea.

Peter Rea is a familiar face on campus because he served as a BW faculty member, the first Burton D. Morgan Chair for Entrepreneurial Studies, and founding director of the Center for Innovation and Growth. He currently serves on the BW Board of Trustees. Peter is also the former Vice President of Integrity and Ethics at Parker Hannifan and the founder of Better Humans Better Performance, based on the book by the same name that he co-authored.

Notice that I didn’t say that those 20 talented students are scholarship recipients. Rather, they are scholarship and mentorship program participants because Peter and Julie designed an innovative program in which the students not only receive scholarships, they also receive mentorship from Peter and Julie. In turn, they are asked to pay forward what they learn about college to career success with other students.

Students receive mentorship focused on developing professional relationships through a process called 50 Cups of Coffee and they learn the basics of personal finance so that they can graduate with less or no debt. Peter and Julie have adapted the 50 cups of coffee concept into a series of interviews with professionals who help the students clarify their career goals, learn about potential careers in their field, discover what it takes to be successful after college, and get suggestions for moving from college to career.

A Gallup study of 30,000 graduates found that three experiences in college are critical to thriving in life and finding meaningful work:

• A relationship with a professor who cared about you and made you excited about learning.
• A professional experience, such as an internship or job where you applied what you learned.
• A relationship with a mentor who helped you create career opportunities.

The Rea Family Scholarship and Mentorship Program builds on all three experiences Gallup found to be critical to success.

Peter noted, "As so often happens with philanthropy, the gift works in both directions. We have benefited by meeting each student and learning from their stories. We have also been gratified by the wide range of professionals who have responded when we have asked them to help by sharing their experiences and expertise with these students."

Peter and Julie's scholarship and mentorship program is evidence-based and aligns with the BW Promise and the BW Way.

The BW Promise is a promise to our students that they will graduate Life-Ready — which means they will graduate Leader-Ready, Team-Ready, Career-Ready, and Future-Ready.

The BW Way is a promise we ask our students to make to themselves and to each other. It's activated by the two letters we see everywhere on our campus: BW.

• Be Welcoming.
• Get Better at Who You Are | Get Better at What You Do.
• Chart a Better Way for Your Future | Make a Better World.

Like Peter and Julie, I ask that each of us play a role in fulfilling The BW Promise and living The BW Way.

Lee Fisher
President, Baldwin Wallace University