Mentors ‘ease transition’ for first-year college students
Mentorships through the College of Arts and Sciences aim to create a sense of belonging on campus. PHOTO CREDIT: uri.edu
The University of Rhode Island College of Arts and Sciences started a peer mentorship program during the summer of 2022, in order for first year students to make a connection on campus more quickly, and create a sense of belonging to URI.
Jen Riley, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, started this program because she wanted to ease the transition from high school to college.
“One of the things I was concerned about was wondering how high school students felt about having to spend the last two years in COVID,” Riley said. “I wanted to find a way to help first year students connect on campus more quickly and feel like they belong here after being online for two years.”
According to Riley, the process of matching students started by first inviting older students to be mentors. Mentors have to accept the invite by filling out a survey and then go through an open assessment, which is a survey where respondents explain who they are, why they want to join, and why they are fit to be a mentor.
Then, they invite first year students to join by filling out a similar assessment, answering questions about what you want in a mentor. Finally, the algorithm uses the answers to match mentors and mentees.
Fourth-year mentor Imani Fleming found out about the program from an email that discussed the process of becoming a mentor. Fleming said she joined because URI has given her so much opportunity and exposure to the campus community. She wanted to give back by helping someone who is just starting their journey and supporting them in any way possible.
Fleming said she had some expectations going in — currently she is studying abroad in England — and she knew that she had to make an effort to stay in contact with her mentees.
“I really wanted to let my mentees know that I will be available and a resource even if I’m on the other side of the world,” Fleming said.
Fleming also said that she felt benefited from this program as it is a way for her to stay involved with the Kingston campus while studying on the other side of the world.
First-year journalism mentee Abby Capalbo joined because she wanted to meet other people and be more involved with the campus community.
“I figured it was a good idea to get more involved with the program and to meet other people in my major,” Capalbo said.
Capalbo continued to say that while she’s from Rhode Island, she was still uncertain about what college is like at the start of the semester so talking with an upperclassman was helpful.
“I was pretty anxious at the start of the semester so meeting with an older student to talk about classes, professors, and getting general advice from someone with more experience was nice,” Capalbo said.
Capalbo said that she recommended this program to future students, especially out of state who are unsure about their major or the school.
“I think I’ll try being a mentor at some point maybe as a junior or senior but I definitely would recommend it to incoming freshmen,” she said.