It’s that time of year! FASS Peer Mentors are recruiting!! Now you may be wondering, what is a FASS Peer Mentor? This is a volunteer position through the Faculty, you get partnered with one or more new incoming first year students. It’s your job to provide them with support, resources, and wisdom as they navigate their first semester. You also get to be involved in FASS events by hosting, volunteering, planning, and attending! There is the option to be involved in different committees that contribute their own awesomeness to the team! It’s a really great opportunity to meet new people and try new things. It’s also a very flexible experience as you can put however much of yourself into it. You can give it your all and be incredibly involved or take the time you need to make genuine connections and focus just on that.
Here's a little bit about my experience as a Peer Mentor. I’ve been a peer mentor for two years now, and I’m incredibly glad I did it. I’ve met the most amazing people and done some pretty great things. I’ve learned how to host an event and be available for communication at all times. Events like welcome day, FASS frenzy and Paint nights have been my favourites. I’ve been able to volunteer but also have fun at the same time. As a criminology student, I get to help guide students along their criminology journey. The one thing I wish I had known when I was a first year was the way requirements worked for CRIM. Because of this, I’ve been able to ensure new students have the resources and knowledge that I didn’t have in my first semester. But don’t just take my word for it!
Here’s what some of my fellow mentors had to say:
“I enjoy being a part of FASS Peer Mentorship because not only do you get to help new students with their transition to SFU, you also get to connect with many other like-minded FASS students ” – Aaron
“Being a mentor is honestly one of the highlights so far in my experience at SFU. I’ve been able to meet an awesome group of people that have become my friends and I’ve learned a ton of skills that have truly helped me with my future goals. Being in the peer mentor program has truly given me the confidence to pursue many of my goals that I have within and outside of SFU” – Marwan
“There are so many reasons to love being a mentor! Among the obvious (meeting and working with awesome people) being a mentor has helped me gain confidence, develop new skills, make new friends, and learn more about opportunities at SFU. It is a great way to get more involved on campus and add meaning to your university experience” – Amanda
“I love being a mentor because it gives me the opportunity to meet lots of new people, develop my leadership skills, support incoming students, and work with a really neat team!” – Annika
So, if you’re looking to get involved in the summer and fall (mainly fall), you can check out the volunteer posting on myinvolvement.sfu.ca. The application ID is 6000.