By Michael Dabney, Director, News Media & Public Relations, Student Educational Advancement
Peer Student Counselors and Mentors:
Student Affairs’ Invaluable Ambassadors
Left: A3 Student Mentors,
Megan and Bernice
From educating fellow UCSD students about health, wellness, and career success to mentoring low-income area high school students on what it takes to succeed in college—UCSD’s numerous undergraduates who serve as peer counselors and mentors are making a vital contribution to the mission and services provided by Student Affairs, as well as other areas at the university.
“These students play a crucial role in assisting other students with questions and concerns related to academic progress at UCSD, social adjustment, and to other areas related to student well-being,” say Patricia L. Scott, Dean of Student Affairs at Eleanor Roosevelt College, and key UCSD administrators whose units benefit from undergraduate peer counselors and mentors.
And what’s more, the peer counselors and mentors benefit as well. These students learn important communication, leadership, and other skills that enhance not only their growth as undergraduates, but also their personal and professional development.
Says Dorothy Wright, a second-year Revelle student who serves as a mentor with the Ambassadors of Academic Achievement (A3) Program, a unit of Student Educational Advancement, which pairs UCSD undergraduates with college-bound juniors and seniors from low-income areas: “As a mentor, I’m helping young high school students realize that going to college is not impossible and that college holds many opportunities for anyone regardless of their economic status or other adversities. But at the same time, I’m also learning! Just by interacting as a mentor, I’m developing leadership qualities, and I have become more positive and open-minded in focusing in on my own goals.”
On January 16, peer mentors from across campus gathered for an All Campus Peer Meeting coordinated by Sam Solomon in the Center for Student Involvement. Here is more insight into key areas of Student Affairs (or areas closely associated with Student Affairs) that use undergraduate peer counselors and mentors and the impact these students are having:
Career Services
The Career Services Center uses six peer counselors (known as Career Peer Educators) who, working under the guidance of Center staff members, serve as paraprofessionals in counseling UCSD undergrads on career-related goals. This ranges from one-on-one advising to critiquing resumes and cover letters for internships or jobs. “In addition,” says Christy Quiogue, coordinator of the Career Peer Educators Program, “each peer educator serves as a liaison (or ‘ambassador’) to one of the six colleges where they work with a member of the Dean of Student Affairs staff to meet the career needs and interests of that college community.”
Says Connie Chang, a fourth-year student who began as a peer educator last September: “I like that I get to nudge people in the right direction for their future. As an undergraduate myself, I remember feeling lost and confused about my career and major. With the advising and other professional skills I am developing through the program, I am looking for a career in a Student Affairs environment.”
Counseling and Psychological Services
This entity of Student Affairs makes use of eight student Peer Educators under its Wellness Peer Education Program, which is also staffed by four program coordinators, two staff psychologists, and two psychology interns.
Says Tiffany O’Meara, Ph.D. of Counseling & Psychological Services: “The Wellness Peer Educators are a group of UCSD students who go out into the UCSD community and educate other students about mental health, wellness, and help students create a more balanced life.” They accomplish their mission through various means, including conducting workshops on such topics as stress and time management, financial wellness, and creating healthy relationships.
In addition, Counseling and Psychological Services also administers a Women’s Peer Education Program under Dr. Cat Thompson, which provides health and wellness counseling for female students.
SPACES (Student Promoted Access Center for Education and Service).
SPACES is UCSD’s student-initiated and student-run access and retention center. Its mission is to help achieve education equity through the creation and strengthening of programs that focus on improving access to higher education, retention within higher education, and admission into graduate and professional schools.
“The center itself employs about twenty student leaders,” says Frida Pineda, SPACES advisor, “who in return empower their fellow peers on a campuswide scale through the various programs that they create and run, which include high school conferences, mentor/mentee programs, and campus diversity engagement tours.”
Express to Success (ETS)
“ETS is a dynamic, multipronged program designed to help UCSD undergraduates build confidence and develop skills in public speaking, interpersonal communication, and leadership,” says Sara Kathleen Henry, the program’s director. ETS student educators, known as ETS Peer Educators, are selected during spring quarter and expected to intern for a full academic year.
Last fall, the students launched FriendExpress @ The Loft, a series of social networking events “with a twist.” At each FriendExpress event, students are taught effective social interaction and interpersonal skills and encouraged to put their skills in practice in a fast-paced and interactive meet-and-greet.
Sexual Assault and Violence Prevention Resource Center
The peer mentoring program that the center previously administered has been replaced with an ambitious new program called Greeks Against Sexual Assault (GASA).
Says Nancy Wahlig, center director: “We have a representative from each Greek organization chapter on campus, and we train these reps in basic information about sexual assault and how to refer students to our services.” She adds, “The GASA reps love the program because they are receiving great training; it is a leadership position in their chapter and they get to help other students. We were able to make this program a possibility due to Marilyn Russell, the Greek advisor.”
Student Educational Advancement (SEA)
In addition to the Ambassadors of Academic Achievement (A3) Program (mentioned above), other SEA outreach and academic enrichment units that benefit from student peer counselors and mentors include TRIO Outreach Programs, Early Academic Outreach Programs (EAOP), BioBridge science education program, OASIS (Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services), and the Hughes Scholars Program.
Center of Student Involvement (CSI)
In collaboration with University Centers, CSI is currently piloting a new student leadership program known as Student Involvement Leadership Consultants, or SILCs. “The consultants staff the One Stop Desk located on Level 3 of the Price Center, where they manage more than two thousand University Centers reservations each quarter,” says Emily Marx, director, CSI. In addition, they are cross-trained to provide information and services to support the operation of UCSD student organizations—providing almost ninety consultations each day to student leaders.
The Six Colleges
“The most widely utilized peer advisors/mentors that are used in the colleges are those in our Academic Advising units,” says Patricia L. Scott, dean of Student Affairs, Eleanor Roosevelt College. “And although Academic Advising isn’t a Student Affairs unit, these students play a crucial role in assisting their fellow students with questions and concerns related to academic progress.”
In addition, several UCSD colleges, including ERC, make use of Transfer Mentors/Ambassadors–undergraduates who assist new transfer students with making the transition from community college and other institutions to UCSD.
Jill Kennedy, a senior, is a transfer mentor/ambassador and is herself a transfer student, coming to UCSD two years ago from Imperial Valley College. Says Kennedy: “Transfer students struggle to transition from community colleges or other universities to UCSD and I wanted to make sure the future students have less of a struggle than I did. I work to improve their transition and campaign on their behalf for programs and services to help them.”