High retention of undergraduate students in traditional four-year colleges is vital for their success and continuous sustainability of these institutions in the United States (U.S.). Personalized mentoring is essential to achieve the goals of retention and successful completion of program degrees within four years. Mentoring not only establishes fruitful, long term relationships between mentee-mentor, but also provides a clear trajectory to mentees and strengthen their belonging to the campus community. Our main objective was to develop a customized, hands-on, educational program for undergrads in the agricultural sciences with a strong mentorship component that provided specific resources to foster conditions conducive to maximize students-centered learning, enjoyment of their choices in higher ed, and clarity for the next chapter of their lives/careers. We offered a novel educational program during summer of 2023-2025 that exposed agricultural students to the intricacies of import-export dynamics of fresh produce to the U.S. Through participant observation and individual interviews pre and post completion of the program at a minority serving institution, we investigated how students engage in mentee-mentor relationship, the impacts on their postgraduation choices, on belonging, and the challenges of national food security. Ninety percent (90%) of students reported significant satisfaction by having direct, frequent communication with at least one of the three mentors in the team throughout the semester and afterwards. Retention of juniors and seniors enrolled was high, with no drops of students that engaged in the program during the 3-yr. Students reported sustained or improved levels of self-confidence, communication, and solution-oriented mindsets after fruitful discussions with mentors. Similarly, mentors observed professional growth, and reaffirmation of the joy to be a faculty member in challenging, uncertain times. We conclude that an individualized relationship that matches mentor-mentee profile is very advantageous to support active learning and interest for lifelong learning.