Peer Mentoring

College is a wonderful experience. You get to study what you’re interested in, have the chance to take part in societies and get involved in things you’re passionate about, and meet lots of new and interesting people. Some of you will be living away from home for the first time. You have so much more freedom than you do in school. However, moving from school to college can be a bit of a shock for many students – it’s an entirely different system and a whole new environment. Most of you will have come from schools where all the teachers and students know you, and it’s normal to feel a bit (or a lot) lost at first. But fear not - everything will fall into place eventually, and in the mean time help is at hand. UCD runs a programme where first year students are assigned a ‘peer mentor’, a second or third year student in their course, someone who knows the ropes and who can show them around. Each peer mentor has a group of about 10-15 first years. The aim of the peer mentoring programme is to make the transition from school to college as smooth as possible.

 

When you arrive in September, you will meet your peer mentor group. The other first years or ‘mentees’ in your group will most likely be in the same classes as you, so it’s a great way to make friends from the very start. Fun activities are organised for the group during Orientation week, such as scavenger hunts, challenges, campus tours and social events. Some of you will have friends or siblings in UCD and you’ll probably be familiar with the college; for those of you from other countries and other parts of Ireland, orientation week is a great opportunity to suss out the campus before classes start, and your peer mentor will help you find your way around. Your peer mentor will be familiar with UCD and will know what’s involved in your course, so if you are unsure of anything or are having any difficulties they can help you or put you in touch with someone who can.

 

 

When you move on to second and third year, you’ll have the option of volunteering as a peer mentor yourself. When I arrived in UCD in September of 2010, there was no peer mentoring programme for Arts students. I knew very few people in UCD, so the first couple of weeks were a bit difficult for me. That’s why I decided to volunteer as a mentor when the programme was finally introduced to Arts a year later – I understood how it could benefit new students. I’m not going to lie: peer mentoring was sometimes hard work, especially the first few weeks – sorting out registration problems, subject changes, organising activities, leading campus and library tours; keeping tabs of 15 first years can be a bit hectic. But it’s something I’m glad I did - if it helped make just one student’s first year less stressful and more enjoyable, it was worth it. For the most part, my first years had few problems and settled in quickly enough, which was great!

 

I hope you enjoy your first year at UCD and that you’ll be encouraged to volunteer as a peer mentor yourself – it’s a great programme to be involved in.