Listen Here
By Seth Dahlausen, dahlhausens@findlay.edu
In its second year after relaunching, the Peer Mentor Program has grown. This year, the program has four mentors and 45 mentees.
Maria Guarnieri, coordinator of diversity, inclusion, and belonging at the Buford Center, leads the Peer Mentor Program. Guarnieri noted that there was an increase in interest compared to last year.
“It was an increase of 10 students compared to last year,” Guarnieri said.
Guarnieri says the Peer Mentor Program offers friendship and guidance to all students at UF. This support is not limited to academics but allows students to thrive individually and socially.
Coming to college can be a significant change for many. It is when many move away from home and meet new people. Guarnieri said this causes a situation where students may feel alone or overwhelmed.
“They don’t have that comfort zone at home or their parents to lean on,” said Guarnieri.
The program is meant to fill in that gap for students. According to Guarnieri, the majority of mentees are incoming freshman. They can receive support from a mentor to navigate this unfamiliar time in life.
“They can have someone that’s been in their shoes before and help them get acclimated to college life,” said Guarnieri.
But the program is not limited to incoming freshman. In fact, this year’s class of mentees are a diverse group.
David May is a junior social work major and peer mentor in the program. He noted that the mentees come from many walks of life and different points in their college career. This includes graduate students, international students, transfer students, and commuters.
“We take any student that’s here on campus,” May said.
Mentors typically meet up with their mentees weekly or bi-weekly. These meetings could be a dinner at Henderson, playing a board game, or just a casual chat to check-in.
Lauren Anderson is an animal science/pre-vet major and a peer mentor in the program. She said her mentees differ in what they like to do and includes international students who want to get familiar with American culture.
“It ranges from people wanting a friend to people wanting to get academic help,” said Anderson.
The mentors and Guarnieri also put on events for all mentees to get together. May said a successful event they put on last fall was a Fall Bash. The mentees got together for an evening of s’mores, pumpkin painting, and a Halloween movie.
The program existed in the past at UF but Guarnieri brought it back to campus last year. She came across the program when going through old paperwork when she started at the Buford Center two years ago. It returned for the first time under Guarnieri’s leadership last year.
Students may not have the time to commit to the program full-time. Guarnieri and the mentors have a solution for that. Beginning this semester, the program offers walk-in appointments with a peer mentor. These appointments can be scheduled in Starfish and do not require one to be in the program.
“I think the open hours made a big difference for people just to walk in and have someone to talk to,” said Guarnieri.
She added that traffic has been slow but she is optimistic it will catch on.
“Somebody might just need help right in the moment like ‘Oh no I failed my midterm and I want help now’ so I feel it could be helpful,” Anderson said.
