Peer mentors help freshmen adjust to USU
The peer mentor program is one of the new retention efforts at Utah State University.
In conjunction with Connections, the peer mentor program assists incoming freshman and transfer students with the transition into college life.
This is the first year at USU the peer mentoring program has been implemented, and so far has proven to be successful, Joyce Kinkead, vice provost for undergraduate studies and research, said.
“We have a great new program of peer mentors this year,” she said. “On a weekly basis, the peer mentors e-mail the students to whom they are assigned to give them a heads up on academic deadlines as well as clueing them into activities and events, ranging from North Logan’s famous Pumpkin Walk to ORC’s call for snowshoeing. “The peer mentors also meet face to face with their students, and the students can be in touch with the mentors to answer any questions about being a student at Utah State,” she said.
In order to be involved with the peer mentoring program, a student must enroll in Connections, Kinkead said.
One Connections option requires a week-long orientation before school starts, then is followed by a regular three-credit semester class in the fall.
There is also a two-credit course option, which requires an orientation class and attendance once a week for the first six weeks of school. There are 13 peer mentors who help teach students, Kinkead said. Peer mentors are also known as members of the A-Team.
Alex Nokes, a peer mentor, said Connections is “for the students to get to know people, get involved and feel comfortable on campus.”
In a Connections class, students learn various skills that will benefit them in their college experience, he said. The classes cover financial management, note and test taking skills, ways to get involved on campus, community service, life in Logan and miscellaneous information such as the history of “the nunnery.”
Once completing this course, the students are assigned a peer mentor to help keep them informed, he said.
Joyce Kinkead said one of the best sources for information on campus can be freshmen, because the e-mails they are receiving from the A-team include current activities, projects, sports events, important deadlines and where to get a cheap meal.
This involvement created by being a part of the peer mentor program, is creating loyalty to the school by boosting participation in clubs and organizations, as well as activity attendance, Kinkead said.
Peer mentoring exists to help the new students feel connected to the university, as well as the community, she said.
Those students who aren’t freshman, or are not part of the peer mentoring program can visit http://a-station.usu.edu to find a list of clubs and organizations available to join.
Students interested in being a peer mentor for next year’s program can find information in Room 310 of the Taggart Student Center. Interviews will be held in November.
-ambergrange@cc.usu.edu