Madina

Being a Peer Mentor

As an international student moving thousands of miles away from home, settling in another country and getting used to the university environment was one of the challenges I came across. During that time, I saw my school and Peer Mentor’s dedication to help us first-year students, and I decided that I want to personally contribute to develop the friendly community that has been established here. I thought that with my experience I could be helpful in this role, so I applied for it.

As a Peer Mentor, I am the first person for my mentees to reach out to if they have any questions or concerns about their studies, settling in Newcastle or anything else in general. I arrange informal meetings to have a friendly discussions on certain topics. I try to be available for my mentees as much as possible as I understand how lost they can feel when starting their first year. I also try to give them a safe space to openly talk about problems (academic or social), if there are any.

Your Peer Mentor is your initial source of support in the new and “scary” stage of your university life. A Peer Mentor is a student in the year above that has been through similar experiences in their first year of university, so they understand perfectly well how a mentee is feeling. They are someone who shouldn’t judge their mentee, should hear them out and if there is anything a Peer Mentor can’t help with then they can refer their mentee to someone who can.