Peer Mentor Program

Mentoring happens when someone with more life experience forms a supportive, coaching relationship with a less experienced person. The goal of mentoring is to encourage students to develop effective strategies and find a balance between school demands and other interests.

Peer Mentors are upper year students who have been trained to teach important academic survival skills to other students through a mentoring process. For example, they can assess your learning and study skills and assist you with improving these.

Peer Mentors may be matched with students for support or they may also provide help with course content.

How will a Mentor help me?

A Mentor can assist with some or all of the following:

• Support and University Survival Skills: helping you through stressful times, listening and helping you problem solve life / school challenges, learning about campus activities and services

• Time Management Skills: setting up a realistic schedule, priority setting, streamlining reading lists, identifying time wasters, etc.

• Writing Skills: strategies for essay or lab report writing; how to narrow essay topics, form a thesis statement, develop outlines, edit for grammar and sentence structure.

• Exam Preparation Skills: strategies for writing multiple choice, problem solving and/or essay exams; reviewing old exams; predicting exam questions; setting up practice sessions; pacing your study activities and dealing with exam anxiety.

• Seeing the Big Picture: if your Mentor is in the same academic program, he or she can help you see how sections of the course connect to each other. Mentors may also help you with course selection.

• Stress Management: identifying typical student stressors, learning how to physically relax, how to balance academic demands and extracurricular activities (such as clubs and volunteer work). Mentors model their own strategies and skills in these areas.

• Motivation and Concentration: identifying strategies for sustaining motivation and ways to deal with distractors that interfere with your ability to focus.

• Healthy Lifestyle Assessment: Mentors are trained to help you identify lifestyle changes you may be interested in making.

• Resources: connecting you with resources for all of the above.

How do I apply for a Peer Mentor?

1. A student may be identified as eligible for the program by a member of staff either from Counselling or Disability Services. Students may also access the program through Learning Strategies Development at the Learning Commons, Stauffer Library, room 142.

All students need to submit their requests by the Friday before Reading Week.

2. Students requesting a Peer Mentor should email the Coordinator, (liz.racine@queensu.ca) including their name, student #, year, program, and if applicable, course specific needs. They should indicate their referral source and attach a current class schedule (as a word document).

3. Liz will email students to offer an intake appointment on a first come first served basis. At the meeting, Liz will obtain specific details on the academic program you are in and the difficulties you are encountering. Students are carefully matched with Peer Mentors on the basis of mentor availability and "fit" with the student's academic program and interests. There is a $20 fee for program participation.

Mentee Testimonials

2nd year Arts and Science student:
The most helpful strategy my mentor taught me was positive self-talk and putting coping statements on post-its: things like 'Relax, stay in the present'.

1st year international student in biomedical computing:
My mentor helped me schedule work for assignments and learn how to use websites to research graduate programs.

2nd year Health Studies student:
  I feel mentoring has helped improve my motivation a great deal.

3rd year Philosophy student:
My mentor has been so incredibly helpful and she came along at a crucial time. I found her strategies on time management and goal setting very helpful. I also really like how we incorporated drawing into mentoring sessions.

4th year Computer Engineering student:
I feel mentoring has been an exploration process for me. I am becoming more self-aware and starting to set more realistic goals.

2nd year international student in biology:
With my mentor's help, I learned how to organize my time, set goals in my planner and get essays done before due dates. So, no stress. I stopped some behaviours that affect my concentration and cause stress - I go to bed early and get up early which helps me manage my time better than before. I study at the Queen's library for up to 6 hours at a time - I did not do that before.

1st year Arts student with disability
My mentor has been fantastic and our time is well used. I've learned some valuable stress management strategies and am improving my essay writing. I'd like to become a Peer Mentor - I think this program really makes a difference.

More Information

See the Volunteer Opportunities tab for information on becoming a Peer Mentor, or contact the Peer Mentor Program Coordinator at liz.racine@queensu.ca