By Julia Murphy ’13, Contributor
Over Spring Break, the Junior class will find out which of their classmates will be peer mentors in the coming school year. Peer mentoring is a part of everyone’s freshman year. Once a week, you get to hang out with a couple of seniors to talk and play games, and if you’re lucky, eat some homemade brownies or Bruegger’s Bagels. Many juniors are applying to experience this again as a mentor.
Scott Dillingham, Director of Student Life, has been a part of the program for eight years and has always known it as a part of the freshman health curriculum. However, it wasn’t always that way. “It used to be a club years ago that met on Monday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. and evolved into what it is today,” said Mr. Dillingham.
Mr. Dillingham and the current peer mentors have just finished the application review process. “The whole process takes about a month and half,” Mr. Dillingham said. “We introduced the opportunity to the juniors in late January, early February.
The application, designed by the current peer mentors, consists of some general questions about personality and some others about why you would make a good peer mentor. Between 40 and 50 applicants usually apply. “Almost all of my friends are applying,” Ari Knue ’12 said.
The number chosen is based on the size of the incoming freshman class. “Last year we chose about twelve and this year we will probably pick about the same,” Mr. Dillingham said.
The review process is three-fold: the applications go through the current peer mentors, the administration and deans, and finally Mr. Dillingham and School Psychologist Ms. Stephanie Elie.
There are many criteria that the peer mentors and their advisors consider. “We look for the level of commitment and time put into the application as well as leadership experience being present,” Mr. Dillingham said. “School involvement is also a factor.” While creativity and personality are aspects, “the biggest thing,” current peer mentor Gretchen Weigel ’11 said “is probably honesty.”
Knue applied to be a peer mentor because she wants “to be able to form a bond with the incoming freshmen.” She really enjoyed her experience as a peer mentee and looked up to her peer mentors. “I want the freshmen to feel the same way about me,” Knue said.
Weigel is really glad she applied. “I love when we get to go outside and play games like capture the flag,” Weigel said. Peer mentors meet with the freshman twice a rotation to talk and hang
out and the seniors discuss the lessons on Wednesdays before school. “The time commitment isn’t too much,” Weigel said.
Weigel also enjoyed her experience as a freshman. She liked having three peer mentors that were all really different because “they could give us different perspectives on high school and it was really helpful.”
Photo by Katie Leonard ’12