Several changes will be implemented in the Elizabethtown College Peer Mentor and orientation programs in the 2018-19 academic year. Associate Director, Strengths Coaching and Ethical Leadership Development Stacey Zimmerman now heads the Peer Mentor program. Orientation is in the hands of Director of Student Transition Programs and Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships Jean-Paul Benowitz.
Starting in fall 2018, each first-year seminar (FYS) will have only one Peer Mentor instead of two. While this cuts the number of hired Peer Mentors in half, Zimmerman said it allows Peer Mentors to earn more money and to do it legally. Past Peer Mentors were paid with a stipend, but next year, Peer Mentors will receive hourly pay that complies with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act.
“Peer Mentors have a crucial role on campus because they can help first-years find their home at Etown,” Zimmerman said. “I’m excited to see them help the first-years, but I’m also excited to see the Peer Mentors develop as leaders.”
Senior Evan Sebio has been involved with the Peer Mentor program since he was hired his first year.
Now a trainer, he said that the changes will make the program feel more personal between Peer Mentors, first-years and leaders.
“I think the program will be closer as a whole since we have less students to focus on when training,” he said. “We can make it more personalized and fun.”
Still, education majors who student teach in the fall cannot be Peer Mentors, even if they were before.
According to Zimmerman, this is partly because of the education department’s desire to have student teaching be students’ primary focus.
There is not much changing in terms of Peer Mentors’ duties, according to Zimmerman. They will still hold roundtable discussions for their first-years and help lead orientation activities.
However, Zimmerman said emphasis will shift from Peer Mentors’ planning social events to their being a resource and guide for things like academic support, even during orientation. According to Zimmerman, this lack of social obligations gives Peer Mentors more freedom to get to know their students on their own time.
However, Zimmerman said no changes are permanent and things that do not work in the 2018-19 program can be changed for the next year.
“We hope that when new students see involved upperclassmen like their Peer Mentors, they’ll be inspired to participate and be engaged in Etown life,” Benowitz said.
Many changes are in store for the orientation programs. Benowitz and Peer Mentors had a chance to test them out at the recent winter orientation.
Senior Tommy Hopkins took on a leadership role as a Peer Mentor during winter orientation. “I think the changes will help enhance the experience by showing how the Etown community works together and are all there to support the new students,” he said. “I think by integrating Peer Mentors more into the bones of orientation and not just herding the students, it can create a more involved orientation.”
Benowitz said the changes were designed to make sure each event has a purpose, particularly at fall orientation, now titled “Blue Jays Always! Opening Days.”
For many events, that purpose is fostering Etown school spirit and making everyone feel welcome. For example, incoming first-years will learn to sing the College’s alma mater before walking to President Carl Strikwerda’s house and singing it from his yard. What was previously the First-Year Walk will now be led by Peer Mentors and have more of an “Amazing Race” feel instead of simply being, as Benowitz described, “a walk into town and a walk back.” Alumni will also be involved in events like the Alumni Games Saturday, Aug. 25, which first-years can watch. FYS groups also have a new name, “Flocks,” designed to foster group and school spirit.
Informational events will happen all around campus. These are designed to get students acquainted with different buildings and resources before classes start. According to Benowitz, all of fall orientation leads up to the Convocation ceremony Tuesday, Aug. 28.
“It’s not just orientation; it’s the opening of the academic year,” Benowitz said.
Benowitz also said this orientation program gives Peer Mentors more responsibility, something they have requested for years. Zimmerman agreed, saying that some Peer Mentors have come to her saying they could handle a group themselves.
“Some students don’t need much help from Peer Mentors, while some need a lot of guidance,” Zimmerman said. “I want Peer Mentors to feel like they can focus on using their own judgment to see who needs what and build relationships off that.”
