First Year Experience
Tips for Peer Mentors
Keep the following suggestions in mind when working with students and faculty— they will help you build successful relationships with both.
Working With Students
- Be friendly and approachable
- Help students adjust to university life and become academically successful
- Get students involved in campus activities and events
- Inform students of WIU resources that would be helpful to them
- Be an active listener
- Be respectful of individuals, their opinions and their abilities
- Appreciate student struggles and be empathetic—let students know they matter
- Recall and share you own experiences as a first year student at WIU
- Build trust with students through honest and respectful communication
- Maintain confidentiality regarding information shared between students, the professor, and yourself
- Act in an ethical manner
- Be predictable and consistent—when you promise to do something, follow through.
- Always be a role model for the students in and out of the academic environment
- Report any student’s potential crisis situation or individual dilemmas to the professor—do not try to solve serious problems by yourself
- Be optimistic and enthusiastic about learning and mentoring
- Maintain a positive attitude and enjoy your experience as a peer mentor!
Working with Faculty
- Plan to talk with the professor about FYE before the day of class
- Discuss the professor’s expectations for your participation in class activities and co-curricular events
- Discuss any concerns you have about the expectations with the professor
- Be a sounding board for ideas for the professor
- Share current activities on campus with the professor and students
- Assist the professor in finding, selecting, and arranging co-curricular events
- Assist in developing and presenting course activities as requested by the professor
- Ask the professor about co-curricular events ahead of time and take notes at events so you can refer to important aspects afterward in order to prompt group discussion
- Attend all classes and events you are scheduled to attend
- Assist in facilitating class discussions and presentations
- Model good student/professor interaction in class by actively participating
- Maintain confidentiality regarding information shared between students, the professor, and yourself
- Be predictable and consistent—when you promise to do something, follow through
- Discuss problematic and critical concerns expressed by students with the professor
- Report any student’s potential crisis situation or individual dilemmas to the professor—do not try to solve serious problems by yourself
- Assist in the FYE course evaluation process
- Give feedback and be open to feedback—remember one benefit of peer mentorship is to help you develop your leadership skills, so ask for advice and suggestions from students and the professor and use it to help you learn and grow!
First Year Experience
211 Sherman Hall • 1 University Circle
Macomb, IL 61455 • fye@wiu.edu
Phone: 309/298-1066 • Fax: 309/298-2021