In April, Dylan Benac, senior political science major from Beorne, was announced as the winner of the Greatest Idea Challenge.

The Greatest Idea Challenge was launched last year to encourage students to present ideas to improve or innovate life at ACU.

Benac’s idea of introducing a student/faculty mentoring institution won first place. He said he hopes the program will be implemented by the spring semester.

“I’ve compared it to other programs and I’ve done research on the best ways to do it,” he said. “Now we’re in the process of doing it and branding it, because when you put something out there as big as this it needs to have its brand already.”

The purpose of the program is to pair students seeking a mentor with a faculty member who has the desire to be a mentor. Benac said students and mentors will be paired based on personality, not just their field of study.

He said he hopes the mentors can increase their students’ critical thinking.

He said the program is in the process of drafting applications and seeking out mentors. When the program initially begins, Benac plans on seeking out a few students, most likely juniors, to participate before opening the doors to all students.

“I want students that want to be impacted, but I also want students that will be engaged with their mentor,” Benac said.