Using Students as Mentors

Northwest Vista College’s Student Life Center is taking mentoring to a whole new level this semester.

Through a new, pilot project eight trained students called “Wildcat Mentors” are serving in mentorship roles to 20 Student Development (SDEV) classes or about 520 students. The goal is for students to help students “Create Opportunities for Success.” While the program is brand new, many of the mentors can see their efforts paying off.

“I had a student who was taking all the wrong classes for her major and after talking to her, I was able to help her (before the census date) enroll in new ones,” said Bianca Ramirez, 19, a Wildcat mentor.

Wildcat mentor Stephanie Estala, 19, once saw herself in many of the students she talks with – afraid to ask questions out loud.

“When I first came to NVC, I didn’t have anyone to turn to and wouldn’t ask questions,” Stephanie said. “I wish this program existed for me last semester.”

Bianca said for many first-time-in-college students, it’s like a “scavenger hunt navigating through the world of college after high school.”

The program is set up where each mentor is assigned two to four SDEV classes and is required to meet in-person with their class three times a semester. SDEV students can set up individual meetings with the mentors for more one-on-one help.

The mentors make in-class presentations on topics such as the importance of their ACES account, campus resources, important deadlines and how to get engaged with their campus. They also send periodic emails – created by Student Life – to remind students of important deadlines and events on campus. The mentors receive a variety of training, which includes time management, general advising and enrollment services, communicating effectively, and expectations in the classroom.

Marie Morgan, director of NVC Student Development, said, “since NVC students are both part-time and full-time students who do not live on campus and may be working or have families, we have to find the best ways to communicate with them and make sure they get the knowledge they need from the start and in a timely manner so they are successful in college. Peer mentoring right now is highly recommended from educational workshops to experts on how to help first-year students.”

Gary Bowling, coordinator of Student Development, added that new students may put more stock into the information presented by the mentors because it’s being offered by students who have went through the process. 

Darryl Nettles, coordinator of Student Leadership and Activities, who also teaches leaderships skills to students said, “time management is possibly the single most important skill new students need to keep pace with in dealing with college demands.”

Time management was also seen as the greatest challenges new students have according to a “Fall 2012 NVC New Student” survey that mentors sent to their assigned students. The survey was later sent to all SDEV students by SDEV instructors.   

As part of the program, mentors also communicate with students through their Facebook page – Facebook.com/NVCWildcatMentors – as a way to remind students of deadlines and important events. One of the mentors featured on the page’s main photo is NVC student Julien Maher. He helped with the design of the mentor program which is led by Marie, Gary and Darryl.

Marie said it was vital to have a student serve on the team to better identify ways to communicate and engage students. Kelly Blanco, Vinnie Bradford and Miriam Thompson also helped to design the program.

Marie said even though the program is in the early stages, they are tracking data to measure if they are being effective through surveys, emails, and Facebook.

“We are getting a lot of good information and important feedback from the Wildcat mentors. Gary, Darryl, and I are grateful to be able to participate in this program with these Wildcat mentors. This program has been a successful learning experience for all of us.”

Mentors:
Lyann Avila
Shawn Atley
Stephanie Estala
Lori Hidalgo
Julien Mahler
Daniel McGinty
Bianca Ramirez
Alex Rocha