Expanded enrollment, training and programming mark the First-Year Peer Mentoring Program, open to all incoming students for the first time since its 2012 launch. More than one-third of the Class of 2018 chose to participate in the program, which matches three or four freshmen with upperclassman mentors.
A total of 542 incoming students indicated interest in peer mentoring on their housing application, while 447 ultimately opted in, co-director Delia O’Shea ’15 said.
The program fills a gap for freshmen who may feel uncomfortable going to a professor or dean for advice but do not know older students, O’Shea said.
“If someone joins a cappella, they can easily meet upperclassmen,” she said. “We’re trying to facilitate those conversations that may not happen that instantaneously for everyone.”
During its spring application process, which included an interview, the program accepted 140 mentors, many of whom participated in the program as freshmen, O’Shea said.
Organizers interviewed a total of 162 applicants, looking for students who understand that every person has a different experience at the College, co-director Sam Farid ’15 said.
“It was a red flag in interviews if mentors said, ‘I want to make my mentees love Dartmouth,’” Farid said. “We screened for people critically thinking about freshman year.”
Bryan Bliek ’18, who received his mentor match in early August, said he wanted a peer mentor because he didn’t know what to expect, as he is the first in his family to attend an American college.
Knowing someone who has “been through the system” and can give advice, he said, is appealing to new students.
“Dartmouth has certainly marketed itself as a place where there’s an opportunity to do anything you want, but you just have to make the effort to go out and get it,” Bliek said. “That’s kind of intimidating.”
The best mentors help students transition and meet with mentees regularly, Bliek’s mentor Nicko Gladstone ’17 said. Gladstone recalled his own first-year peer mentor sending weekly text messages to check in during his winter off-term.
In response to feedback from past participants, organizers paired this year’s mentors into “families,” giving their mentees more opportunities to meet other upperclassmen, O’Shea said.
Current mentor Ellis Guo ’17 said freshmen will benefit from meeting other “family” members.
Gladstone, however, said he doesn’t anticipate much interaction with his “step-mentees” and instead plans to invest his time getting to know his own matches.
Each mentor will receive a $15 food voucher to use during meetups with freshmen, and in the winter, organizers hope to sponsor a free weekend at the Dartmouth Skiway for all participants, Farid said.
This year’s spending will determine the program’s future budget, Farid said, adding that the program received supplementary funding from the Dean of the College’s office to accommodate its growth.
Farid said he expects enrollment to steady in future years, though the program may expand as more mentees return as mentors.
“We’re on the housing application,” he said. “We pretty much peaked there in terms of getting the word out.”
Before classes begin, mentors will participate in a daylong training session with several presentations by administrators, O’Shea said.
The training session will include an “abbreviated sensitivity training” that teaches them to respond appropriately when students come forward with a problem and how to connect them with trained professionals, Farid said.
When Student Assembly launched the First-Year Peer Mentoring Program two years ago, around 300 freshmen were automatically enrolled, based on their residence hall. The second year of the program followed the same pattern.
As a result, O’Shea said, many students were unresponsive.
Guo, who participated in the program as a freshman, said he had been unaware of his peer mentor until he received an invitation to the program’s start-of-year barbecue. Several more weeks passed before he met his mentor, at which point he had already adjusted to campus life due to support from an international student mentor and his undergraduate advisor.
Some students living on Guo’s floor regularly spent time with their mentors, while others met once or ignored the program altogether, he said.
Some new students may feel uncomfortable reaching out to a mentor, Gladstone said.
This year, with the opt-in system, organizers hope to see more enthusiastic participation, O’Shea said.
Peer advising exists in several forms at Dartmouth, some more formal than others.
Institutional and student-led peer mentor programs include the First-Year Student Enrichment Program, Women in Science Program, International Student Program, Native Pre-Orientation Peer Mentors and Outreach Peer Mentors.
A mentoring program run by Link Up, a campus women’s network, has also seen a swell of student interest, president Kelsey Stimson ’15 said. This year, over 200 women in the Class of 2018 requested mentors, compared to about 80 in past years.
While students of all genders benefit from upperclassman support, Stimson said, living on a campus with noticeably male-dominated areas makes women’s experiences different.
Mentoring “families” in Link Up’s program comprise a chain of women, with one student from each class — reflecting the program’s focus on long-term relationships rather than new student orientation, Stimson said. This year, for the first time, female professors will join select families.
More casually, men’s soccer captain Gabe Hoffman-Johnson ’14 said new team members have sought his advice on issues like course selection, class difficulty and balancing athletics with academics.
“You’re never telling them what to do,” he said, “but maybe a lighter load in the fall is easier. Or specific classes where a professor is okay if you miss.”
Stimson is a former member of The Dartmouth staff.
