ALS 4400 - Leadership through Peer Mentoring

Fall. 1 credit. S/U grades only.

Permission of instructor required.

S. Merkel, E. Ostermann.

This course will prepare and support students who are peer mentors for first years students in CALS. Skill development will include: empathetic listening and responding to student concerns; helping students identify needs and find resources for those needs; role modeling good study and time management skills; setting goals and career paths; communicating effectively with faculty and other adults; reflecting and articulating goals and experiences. Students will mentor 4-6 first year students outside of class with personal meetings, office hours and by organizing events. Each week, students will discuss a topic in the classroom, then organize resources or an event around the topic of the week. They will write reflections in class about the previous week.

Outcome 1: Identify the academic resources that each mentee needs and find the appropriate campus resources to provide mentees with accurate information regarding those needs.

Outcome 2: Identify what co-curricular activities most interest their mentee(s) and find non-academic campus resources to help mentees navigating campus life, social activities/clubs and other aspects of life at Cornell.

Outcome 3: Acknowledge the importance of social belonging and the impact of imposter syndrome, and work to create a climate of community.

Outcome 4: Recognize signs of concern and confer with support leads to steer first-year students to necessary support as needed.

Outcome 5: Model positive mentoring behaviors, including compassion, responsiveness, sensitivity to concerns, and confidentiality.

Outcome 6: Demonstrate active listening techniques and comfortably cultivate conversations with fellow students with different backgrounds.

Outcome 7: Model and help mentees identify good study habits, including how to engage with others in group settings to foster learning.