Weeks 11-12: October 29th – November 9th
This week was our final week in survey class — and, as another peer mentor pointed at to me, my last survey class ever! I’ll be graduating in a few short weeks (5 and a half, but who’s counting?), which makes me reflect on the past four years. This semester as a peer mentor has been different from last in that I feel like less of a peer. While the freshmen are just starting to acclimate to college, I’m about to leave and acclimate to the working world, followed by the graduate school world. I feel like I’m about to enter a new chapter in my life (just as the freshmen are) but I feel much more prepared and ready to do so than I felt coming into college. I’ve learned so much about myself — my strengths and weaknesses, my career interests, and my passions.
I’m also very thankful for my peer mentor experiences because they helped me realize my passion for helping students adjust to college. I’ve enjoyed being able to listen to students’ unique stories and suggest resources that may be beneficial to them. These experiences have helped me realize that I want to pursue a career in higher education and student affairs, with a goal of perhaps even ending up in academic advising! I hope I can take the skills I learned through my peer mentor experiences (specifically, serving students and evaluating programs to support students) and apply them in my graduate school assistantships and beyond.