Mentoring: A program with far-reaching results
Heather Lynch
During a special ceremony earlier this month, the University recognized the contributions of student mentors Mike Brown, Chantal Gosselin, Caroline Lévesque, and Kyli O’Connor by rewarding them with CIBC Mentorship Program Scholarships.
While the scholarships reward the exceptional students who work as mentors, they also highlight the importance of the University’s Mentorship Program; its impact on students, mentors and the University as a whole.
A joint initiative of the Student Academic Success Service (SASS) and the University’s faculties and services, the mentorship program pairs undergraduate and graduate students with student mentors. Mentors are generally fourth-year undergraduate students in high academic standing, and are trained to assist their peers with improving learning methods, heightening motivation, and encouraging academic success.
As Marcela Rincon, a first-year law student notes, “I have benefited greatly from the Peer Advisor Program at the Faculty of Law. It gave me the opportunity to interact with upper year students like Mike Brown, my mentor. Mike was very helpful in answering questions and discussing concerns on academic matters. He organized activities and encouraged us to get involved and to share our experiences inside and outside the classroom. This program makes transition to law school a lot easier.”
While the objective of the mentoring program is to assist students in succeeding with their studies, the program also offers personal, social, academic and professional benefits for the mentors themselves.
Mike Brown, a third year common law student and one of this year’s CIBC scholarship recipients says, “Serving as a peer advisor is what I would describe as a mutually beneficial and rejuvenating experience! The counseling and support skills I have learned as a peer advisor are skills that I know I will incorporate into my future legal practice.”
In addition to the important contribution that mentoring makes for all involved, it also has a significant impact on the improved quality of the university experience, from admission to graduation.
“We work closely with the Deans and Directors to ensure specific needs for specific faculties and services are met,” says SASS director, Murray Sang. “With 17 centres and close to 200 mentors who consult some 6,000 students annually, the results are more than positive. The program really is a win-win for everyone.”
For more information on the Mentorship Program, visit www.mentors.uOttawa.ca.