First-year students transitioning to college life understand how scary and overwhelming all of the changes can seem. Fortunately for freshmen, the Office for Student Success at Texas A&M has successfully implemented the First Year Experience Seminar to help ease the transition from high school to college. This once-a-week seminar is a safe space for first year students to feel welcome and have the opportunity to interact with their peers. Additionally, Peer Mentors are what makes this seminar memorable and these upperclassmen serve as a resource and point of contact for students.
I was incredibly fortunate to be selected as a Peer Mentor for the Fall 2023 semester. I was given the opportunity to connect with other peer mentors and hear their thoughts and concerns about the upcoming semester. I’ll admit, the amount of public speaking that would be involved in such a role seemed daunting and a little scary at first. However, after completing the required training and meeting with my instructor, I felt much more at ease with the role and realized that it would actually be a lot of fun! I was also relieved to know that I would not be the only one with questions about my role as a mentor. With that being said, I would like to share three things I learned about how to be an efficient and effective peer mentor.
Meet with your instructor weekly
It can be intimidating at first, but meeting with your instructor early can ease any confusion and make organizing activities easier for everyone involved. I met with my instructor over Zoom the first week of classes and it was extremely refreshing to finally be able to put a face to a name. Meeting with the course instructor also made me realize that the relationship between a Teaching Assistant and a Professor is one that is based on connecting with a faculty member on a more personal level. One of my favorite parts of being a peer mentor is the opportunity to connect with Texas A&M faculty. It is highly encouraged to stay in contact with one another for the weekly activities.
Create a Group Chat for your class Early
Texas A&M students all rely on this popular form of communication for most classes: GroupMe. I knew that at the start of the semester, I wanted to implement an easy way to reach out to my mentees. After the first day of class, I immediately created a GroupMe that everyone could join and serve as a place for me to make announcements and inform the class on deadlines that may be approaching. Overall, having a class GroupMe makes my life as a peer mentor so much easier.
Facilitate Meaningful One-on-Ones
One of my requirements as a peer mentor is the facilitation of one-on-one meetings with my mentees. These meetings would take place around the middle of the semester and are important for first year students to check in on how they are feeling and progressing so far in the semester. This time will also serve as an opportunity to answer any questions about Texas A&M in a more private setting. My main objective when conducting these meetings is to form a true connection with the students and make them feel heard on any issues they may have.
Being a Peer Mentor and a part of the Office for Student Success is an experience that I feel extremely grateful for. I feel as though the university has trusted me with the task of being a successful campus representative and resource. Looking back on my first year experience, I will never forget the upperclassmen that helped me along the way. I hope to leave an impact on my students just like those before me.