By Mary Claire Walker
Being a peer mentor for the Fulbright Honors College has been nothing short of one of the most rewarding opportunities I’ve experienced at the University of Arkansas.
Let me unpack that though.
Coming into college my freshman year as an honors student was very intimidating for me. The stigma of being “honors” and having various requirements to uphold, such as taking multiple honors classes, doing research, and writing a thesis in the next four years, left me questioning myself and my ability to do well with those requirements. I challenged myself in high school yes, but I had never been fully confident in myself academically.
After freshman year of college ended, I was still struggling with my confidence. I had been through a few honors classes and did well, however, I still had this feeling of disconnection between me and all that I was supposed to become as an honors student. Some of you might have been a part of the peer mentoring program in Jill’s University Perspectives class, where you had older peers reinforcing your decisions concerning you student activity, and I feel like if I had this my freshman year, my lack of confidence would not have been as big of an issue. Still, whether I was a part of the program or not, I knew an opportunity like peer mentoring would help me connect with my college. Right before the semester ended, I got the email with the application to apply to be a peer mentor. I had always enjoyed jobs like that, where I got to help walk people through certain experiences. Whether it was helping peers with high school or at summer camp, it had always been a passion of mine, and I felt moved to apply for the position.
After getting the email that I was selected to be a Fulbright honors peer mentor for the 2019-2020 school year, I suddenly felt connected in the way I had been missing. From there, we all came back from summer and immediately began our meetings with our team and our mentees. The commitment was not too heavy, but it was enough to feel impactful towards the students.
During first semester, I was a part of the mentor group in Jill’s UP lecture, where I took on a small group of bright students with majors in Fulbright College. I would meet with them at the beginning of lecture to check them in for attendance, and I would also hold a drill group session for an hour per week. In this session, I covered different angles of the university with them such as research and mental well-being, and that was also a great time for them to ask me questions about anything, from class registration to opportunities on campus. Most of the time commitment was meeting with the students in drill, keeping up with their attendance records, and preparing for drill discussions. During the spring semester, I was able to be a 1:1 peer mentor, where I was assigned one student to meet with weekly and go over how things were going. I believe both types of mentors were beneficial to the students, and it was fun to get to know the freshmen and hear about their concerns and questions.
Through being a peer mentor, I feel like I have not only gotten the chance to impact new students’ lives within the Fulbright College Honors Program by helping guide them to achieving their goals, but I also have newfound access to resources, opportunities, and community in the honors program for myself. Getting to help support the honors program through peer mentoring personally made me feel like I belonged here. It made me feel like I was capable of doing all that is asked of Fulbright honors students.
Why is that?
Getting to work with other peer mentors, faculty, and students made me realize that the honors program is so special because everyone here wants the people around them to succeed. Whether it’s through encouragement, advice, or just being a friendly face that first year students see around campus, being a peer mentor helps you create that extra community and driven environment to help other students to succeed. Being a peer mentor made all of my fears about being an honors student disappear, while making my goals seem attainable and making me feel like I am a part of a like-minded and driven academic community.
If you feel like you are needing to be more plugged into the Fulbright College Honors Program or you already are plugged in and want to do more, APPLY! I can promise you, it will make your experience as an honors student so rewarding and worthwhile.
–
To apply to become a peer mentor for the 2020-2021 school year, complete the FCHP Peer Mentor Application by Wednesday April 15th, 2020.
