Tag: Peer Leaders

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Office of General Education Peer Academic Leaders Student Academic Engagement & Success

Peer Academic Leaders complete fall training, celebrate milestones, and look ahead

The Peer Academic Leaders (PALs) have completed their Fall 2025 training and are ready to support SMU undergraduate students this academic year.

From August 15–19, the PALs joined the Engage Dallas Student Directors and Spiritual Life Mentors for the annual Peer Leader off-site retreat. This experience gave them the opportunity to sharpen leadership skills, strengthen collaboration, and build connections across campus programs. PALs also completed specialized training with Residence Life and Student Housing (August 18–19) and will be welcoming new Mustangs over Welcome Weekend as Stampede Guides.

The PALs are coming off a record-breaking year, hosting events that engaged over 2,000 students in 2024–2025. Combined with other Office of General Education (OGE) programs, PALs helped OGE achieve the highest undergraduate student attendance in the Division of Student Academic Engagement and Success and the second-highest across the entire campus in SMU360 over the same period. This momentum sets the stage for even greater impact in the academic year ahead.

PAL programming kicks off in September, with events and office hours designed to connect students to academic resources and success strategies. Beginning the week of August 25, students can drop by for PALs office hours in Laura Lee Blanton, Suite 338, or schedule 1:1 meetings. These 1:1 meetings are especially helpful in preparing for the October 1 Degree Planner deadline.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to partner with PALs as a resource for supporting students’ academic journeys. Whether it’s attending programs, referring students for peer support, or amplifying PAL initiatives, your collaboration makes a difference.

Stay connected with PALs on SMU 360, email them at peeracademicleaders@smu.edu, or follow along on Instagram @pals_smu.

Together, let’s make 2025–2026 another record-breaking year for student success!

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Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Academic Success Programs

Peer Academic Leaders kick off the academic year with social media campaign and certification program

As the Fall 2023 semester fast approaches, the Office of General Education is pleased to announce the Peer Academic Leader program (PALs) relaunch.

PALs are third- and fourth-year SMU students who have proven to be successful academically and are also highly involved on campus. Their mission as peer leaders will be to plan and facilitate programming throughout the academic year to ensure first- and second-year students are knowledgeable about campus resources. PALs will also serve as peer advisors to ensure students are registered for classes on time and understand common curriculum requirements.

Be sure to follow our Instagram (smu_advising_pals) for updates on PALs events. The PALs have quickly adopted this page and begun their first social media campaign, “Meet Your PAL“. These posts contain short videos where the PALs can introduce themselves, discuss their favorite part of being an SMU student, and share back-to-school tips.


The PALs will move back to campus on August 10th, 2023, and we’re excited to welcome them back.

They will be in training from August 11th until August 16th. As a result of training, PALs will be Certified Peer Educators, ready to support their fellow Mustangs. The training includes eight modules, covering the role of peer education, helping peers make a behavior change, listening skills, response and referral skills, how to take action and intervene, recognizing the role of diversity and inclusivity, programming and presentation skills, self-care, and group dynamics.

Finally, starting on August 17th, PALs will serve as Stampede Guides to further connect with their residents.

Questions, comments, or social media collaborations are welcome. Please contact Melina Padron, Senior Advisor for General Education.