The Media School is piloting a peer mentor program for first-year direct admit students from historically underrepresented populations. Mentees will be paired with third- and fourth-year students for a yearlong mentorship program.

The program will also welcome any first-year Media School students who reach out for support, with the goal of helping all mentees feel more connected and supported early in their Media School experience.

Mentors will be asked to meet with their mentee once a month, stay in regular communication, and participate in pre-semester and post-semester meetings with the program leaders.

Your responsibilities

What is expected of me as a peer mentor? 

• Attend a training workshop at the start of fall semester
• Meet with your mentee at least once a month
• Communicate with your mentee weekly
• Check in on your mentee’s morale and academic progress/goals
• Be available via email with a 24-hour response window except on weekends
• Share your experience about courses, involvement in clubs and organizations, etc. (e.g., what to expect in the semesters/years ahead)
• Direct your mentee to appropriate resources for questions you can’t answer
• Adapt your support to the needs of your mentee, which may depend on academic, social, national, and other backgrounds and prior experience
• Support your mentee with developing community connections (introduce them to community channels such as student groups, clubs, churches, etc)
• Attend an end-of-semester review meeting

Benefits of being a peer mentor

• Help shape the future of peer mentoring at The Media School
• Gain and demonstrate valuable soft-skills like interpersonal communication, problem solving, flexibility and leadership
• Voice the needs and concerns of undergraduates within The Media School
• Expand your resume and build your network