Finding the Path Forward: Inside FCBHW’s NextGen Mentoring Program

In September 2025, the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce launched the NextGen Mentoring Program pilot at USF. The program supports senior undergraduate students preparing to apply to Florida-based clinical graduate programs in behavioral health. Designed to meet students at a critical transition point, it reflects FCBHW’s mission to grow, retain and innovate the workforce by helping students navigate education and career decision-making while charting a path toward meaningful and sustainable careers.

The inaugural cohort included 15 undergraduate USF seniors across a range of behavioral health-related disciplines. Each mentee receives a $5,000 stipend, participates in monthly academic success and professional development seminars, and is paired with an actively practicing licensed behavioral health professional in their intended career area for one-on-one mentoring.

For Samuel Belyea, a Tampa native and behavioral health major at USF, the NextGen Mentoring Program arrived at exactly the right time.

A nontraditional student, Belyea spent 16 years as a licensed massage therapist before enrolling at USF with the goal of becoming a licensed mental health counselor. As a full-time student balancing two part-time jobs, he sees his earlier career as foundational to his future work in counseling.

“I feel like my entire life up to this point has prepared me to become a counselor,” Belyea said. “As a massage therapist, you work one-on-one with clients, hearing their life stories and their troubles. Seeing the way my clients responded to the pandemic, there were a lot of breakdowns, and I didn’t feel quite qualified to handle the intensity of those emotional experiences. So I decided to go back to school and focus on behavioral health because that’s very much what I see as the root of many of these chronic conditions.”

Through NextGen, Belyea was paired with a licensed mental health counselor at Tampa General Hospital as his mentor. Those conversations helped him better understand what lies beyond graduate training and how to make strategic early career decisions.

“I was working in applied behavior analysis with kids on the autism spectrum when my mentor really kind of sat me down and said, ‘we need to have a conversation about your professional development and finding jobs that are more closely aligned with counseling’,” shared Belyea. “That’s when we discussed case management. She was able to give me insight into a stepping stone that would be better suited to grad school, both in terms of what I’d be learning in the classroom and with the intensity of graduate training.”

Because of those conversations, Belyea was able to leverage his network to secure a position with a case management agency after completing his undergraduate degree. The role offers flexibility around his graduate school schedule as he prepares to begin the Clinical Mental Health and Rehabilitation graduate program at USF in fall 2026.

Beyond mentoring, the program’s financial support proved just as critical. During the fall 2025 semester, a tree fell through the roof of Belyea’s home draining his savings. At the same time, unexpected complications in his financial aid left him responsible for the full cost of his tuition. The NextGen stipend allowed him to cover out-of-pocket tuition costs and keep up with his mortgage, making it possible to remain enrolled.

“It was really a saving grace,” Belyea said. “It was everything I needed, exactly when I needed it.”

Stories like Belyea’s reflect a broader challenge facing Florida’s behavioral health workforce pipeline. Many capable and motivated students leave their programs not because of academic difficulty, but because life circumstances create financial barriers at exactly the wrong moment. By pairing mentoring with flexible financial support, the NextGen Mentoring Program is designed to help students persist through those moments and stay on track.

Early indicators from the program’s midpoint evaluation suggest the pilot is having its intended impact. Mentees reported increased clarity in career pathways and greater confidence in navigating education and career decision-making. These findings reflect FCBHW’s commitment to pairing workforce innovation with rigorous evaluation. A summary of the midpoint results is available in the NextGen Mentoring Program evaluation brief.

Building on the pilot’s early success, FCBHW plans to expand the NextGen Mentoring Program to additional regions or universities in Florida and develop specialized tracks aligned with graduate-level professional pathways. For students like Samuel Belyea, the program represents more than guidance or funding. It is a signal that their commitment to serving others is seen, valued and worth investing in.