Welcome
Introduction
At the 2022 Western Regional Honors Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sarah and Kylie were inspired to create a program within the Davidson Honors College (DHC) that was student-founded, student-led, and focused on peer-to-peer support. With the guidance and support of Dean Tim Nichols and DHC Student Success Coordinator Andy Josten, the DHC Peer Mentorship Program was born. Our passionate team of mentors volunteer their time and energy to make this program happen. Mentors and mentees have the agency to enhance the program and make it their own. It started out as a dream shared by two friends and has grown to include over one hundred other DHC students! Here's to year two!
What to Expect
Students in the Davidson Honors College are invited to participate in a Peer Mentoring program. The purpose of the Peer Mentoring program is to provide new DHC students early in their honors experience with a continuing sense of support, connection and retention from other honors students that will enhance their success at UM and in the DHC.
So what will you be doing? Once mentors and mentees are assigned, there will be a number of required interactions which are relatively open-ended. They will depend on what you want to do!
1-on-1 conversations between mentor and mentee once per month. This could be getting coffee, lunch, or perhaps just hanging out in the Lounge and playing a game of chess. The point is for you to check in like one would check in on a friend.
Monthly mentor meetings. Mentors will meet once a month as a group to continue the development of the program and share and build mentorship skills.
Regular attendance at DHC/UM events. Your presence and participation in the DHC is important! And there are a plethora of events you can attend from Tea Time with Tim and Trivia Night in the DHC to concerts and basketball games around UM. We encourage you as a mentor to attend at least one per month. You can even use it as your 1-on-1.
Community and peer support are core values of the DHC. We strive to cultivate an environment where all students can feel supported and empowered by their fellow classmates and faculty. This mentorship program is another way we are seeking to accomplish this goal and make every student feel at home.