James
BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
I really enjoyed the connection I had with my mentees. The problems and concerns they were experiencing were extremely like my own when I was in my first year and I thoroughly enjoyed reassuring them from my own first-hand experience
Being a Peer Mentor
I decided to become a Peer Mentor after having a positive experience with my own Peer Mentor when I joined Newcastle University. My Peer Mentor helped me get to grips with living in Newcastle and also my very challenging course. I wanted the opportunity to provide the same experience to fellow students joining the university.
As a Peer Mentor, I advised my mentees to not be afraid to ask questions. University is quite a daunting prospect compared to the classroom at school, but I reassured my mentees that Newcastle provides a great learning environment that they will be able to thrive in. I also reminded them that the lecturers are there to help you succeed.
I really enjoyed the connection I had with my mentees. The problems and concerns they were experiencing were extremely like my own when I was in my first year. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to and reassuring my mentees from my own first-hand experience.
Benefits of being a Peer Mentor
As a Peer Mentor, the key transferable skills I developed were leadership and empathy. I would recommend to all students that they should volunteer as a Peer Mentor. If you had a positive experience with your Peer Mentor, try and think how great it would be to replicate this experience for your fellow students. If you had a difficult experience, but are now enjoying university life, cast your mind back to the struggles of that first year, possibly coming to a new city and think how helpful you could be to new students coming to Newcastle and experiencing the things you did.