Tag: peer mentors

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Academic Development of Student-Athletes (ADSA) Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Office of General Education SMU in Four Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Academic Success Programs Student Success & Retention University Advising Center University Testing Center

Community and Support: DASS Launches a Peer Mentor Program

Portrait of Lindsay Templeton, DASS Peer Mentor

Starting at a new university can be exciting and overwhelming. To help ease that transition, Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies (DASS) is developing a Peer Mentor Program. This pilot initiative pairs new DASS students with fellow Mustangs with disabilities who understand both the opportunities and challenges of life at SMU.

DASS peer mentors provide personal, academic, and social guidance. They help new students navigate campus, balance the demands of college life, stay motivated, and problem-solve challenges. Mentors also connect students to key campus resources, share strategies for navigating SMU systems (including DASS!), and, perhaps most importantly, help build a strong sense of campus community and support.

As our Lead Peer Mentor Lindsay Templeton explains:

“College is tough, particularly when you’re not a traditional student. I think the things that help you succeed most are learning how to advocate for yourself and building a support network. When I started at SMU, all the different demands and expectations felt heavy and isolating. It took me time to learn how to speak up for myself and find people who made everything feel a little easier. My hope is that I can help other students get over those hurdles more quickly than I did and for them to know they have someone cheering them on.”

If you or a student you know would like more information or, better yet, to join the DASS Peer Mentor Program pilot as a mentor or a mentee, please contact David Tylicki at dtylicki@smu.edu.

Together, we can help every Mustang start strong!

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Mentorship Office of Engaged Learning Student Academic Engagement & Success

Mustang Mentors Spotlight: Hayley and Fenix

Meet Hayley and Fenix, one of the first mentorship pairs in the Mustang Mentors peer mentoring program.

Fenix, a freshman at SMU, arrived on campus in Fall 2024 excited to explore every opportunity to invest in herself. As an undecided major, she was looking for guidance from someone who had been in her shoes and shared her academic interest and goals. Who better than a peer?

After receiving an invitation to join Mustang Mentors, Fenix was matched with Hayley, a senior majoring in Applied Physiology and Sport Management. Initially, Hayley said, “I was so nervous to be a mentor, and then once I met Fenix and realized how much we had in common, I knew I could actually help her with the things she needed.”

Fenix’s academic and career interests ranged from business to advertising, marketing to communications, and everything in between – very similar to Hayley’s.

“When I would talk to Hayley about her experiences with applications to Advertising and to Cox, then making her shift to sports management, it gave me confidence to say ‘Okay, I’ll end up where I need to be at the end of the day. There is so much I can do at this school,'” said Fenix.

For Hayley, the leadership opportunity to be a mentor during her senior year came at the perfect time. When the program came across her email, she knew “this could be a good opportunity to keep me accountable and to also meet someone I would’ve never met in any other setting.”

Both Fenix and Hayley shared the impact of peer mentorship on their college experience. “Having a peer mentor is motivating — especially knowing you are not alone and that you can ask for help. It gives you a foundation to keep you grounded in yourself and make more friends,” says Fenix.

“Being on the other end of this as a mentor, it’s a good way to see where I’m at with my leadership skills. I’m not one to normally put myself out there for positions like this, so it’s an experience I wouldn’t have ever gotten without this program,” says Hayley.

Peer Mentorship Matters

Hayley and Fenix’s mentorship highlights the important role of peer mentorship at SMU. Click here to watch their brief interview on youtube!

If you know a student who could benefit from Mustang Mentors, encourage them to email us at mustangmentors@smu.edu or visit our website smu.edu/mustangmentors!

 

 

 

 

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Office of Engaged Learning Student Academic Engagement & Success

Exciting Summer Updates: Launching the Mustang Mentors Peer-Mentoring Program

logo of SMU Mustang Mentors program

We are thrilled to share exciting updates about the new Mustang Mentors peer-mentoring program. Set to fully launch this fall, the program has made significant strides in recruiting both mentors and mentees over the summer. Thanks to the assistance from our dedicated partners and technology platform Mentor Collective, along with our invaluable campus colleagues, we are well on our way to creating a vibrant and supportive mentoring network for our students.

Since the launch of our summer recruitment plan, we have seen our mentor registration increase from 39 to 67 students! We’ve witnessed an enthusiastic response from mentors eager to share their knowledge and experiences, as well as from first-year students looking for guidance and a sense of belonging at SMU.

We are also pleased to report an increase in our mentee registration from 18 to 27 first-year students. This is a good start, and we look forward to engaging more first-year students at Family Fest during STAMPEDE. As part of your continued support, please direct students not affiliated with a group (e.g., scholars, Greek) to our table to sign up.

Thank you once again to everyone who has contributed to this initiative with a special thank you to our partners in Student Affairs, Transfer Advising, First-Generation, and RLSH. Your support has been vital to building such positive momentum with this new initiative.

We look forward to sharing more updates as we move forward. If you would like to learn more please visit our website at smu.edu/mustangmentors for more information.

Pony Up!