Students should sign up for the Peer Mentoring Program. The program’s recruitment season is going on right now and it is looking for upperclassmen to apply.
Potential mentors should have the urge to help the community. According to the program’s Web site, a mentor’s duties are to “Act as a big brother/sister to the mentees and help ease these students’ transition from high school to college life.”
The goals of the program are to “aid in the academic, emotional and socio-cultural adjustment of first year students of African-American, Native American & Hispanic decent to college life at N.C. State and to actively involve upper-class students and faculty/staff in developing the maximum potential of these freshmen,” Elijah Gore, recruitment captain and mentor, said. “Even though the program is geared towards minorities, it is not exclusively for minorities.”
“It’s fulfilling,” Gore said. “It’s like being a big brother passing on your knowledge about campus life.”
“It allows me to see how an upperclassman works and gets through their day and it gives me someone to look up to,” said mentee Geoffrey Bogner, a freshman in First Year College. “He gives me homework and study tips, and he also shows me more of N.C. State social life.”
Every student could certainly benefit from having extra advice. For example, an adviser really couldn’t tell you if a fellow professor was not approachable. This is because professors do not actually take classes and because telling you something on the record is unethical.
“I mentor with hopes that I will be a positive influence and a resource in my mentees transition into college life. Coming to college is not easy. You’re away from your family, academics is different, you have to change your mindset from high school to college,” Gore said.
This a valuable tool for boosting resumes and helping strengthen communication skills. It furthers the University as a family, and therefore boosts our national rankings. Problems on campus such as recent GPA requirements — the 1.0 statute, for example — are problems for freshmen. This is because if one does not get those grades in the first or second semester, he or she will be dropped from the University.
I urge people interested in becoming mentors to apply using the applications on the Peer Mentor Program (PMP) Web site (http://www.ncsu.edu/msa/pmp).
The time they spent together varies from week to week. Gore and Bogner say they sometimes do not meet during the week and sometimes text in order to keep in touch. “It’s 100 percent reassuring to have Elijah there for me, my schedule is really hectic. Inspiring to be in paper science engineering, there’s not very much free time to meet, but Elijah makes sure he keeps in touch with me … he makes me feel like he’s really there if I need the help,” Bogner said.
It’s a commonly known fact that as the University gains more students, introductory classes have balloon to contain the excess in many 100-level classes. The advent of learning technologies such as the Internet and programs like Vista, Maple, Moodle and WebAssign are naturally alienating as they diminish face-to-face contact in place of efficiency. The University’s Peer Mentor Program should be expanded and encouraged and all of those who are capable of applying should apply.
Send Jake your thoughts on peer mentoring to [email protected].
