Dear First year students,
Biomedical and Life Science will be piloting a Peer Mentoring system in the next academic year, whereby second year students may become peer mentors to our new incoming first year students. As you will be in your second year when you return in October, we would like to invite you to become a mentor.
Peer mentoring has huge benefits for both mentor and mentee. As a mentor, you will be able to evidence many vital employability skills such as responsibility, communication and commitment and you will play a vital role in supporting our new students as they make the transition from secondary education to higher education. This support might include helping them find their way around campus, giving hints and tips on general study skills, understanding the degree structure etc. Mentors receive 10 points towards the Lancaster Award, in recognition of the importance of this scheme in developing skills valued highly by employers. Mentees benefit through your support, experience and guidance.
This initiative is very strongly supported by Lancaster University Students’ Union and they are committed to providing training (guidance, policy and safeguarding) for all mentors.
The duties of a mentor are not onerous, with only one or two meetings per term, but they are immensely valuable in helping our new students integrate into university life and especially helping them through those first few weeks when everything is new.
We hope that you will choose to volunteer for this scheme. If you would like to become a peer mentor, please sign up in the ‘Peer Mentoring’ section of the BIOL100 tutorial Moodle page. (The Peer Mentoring section is the second box down on this page.)
With thanks in advance.
Christine